Case Studys
ICase Study – GG
I came to St Edmunds following a referral from an abstinence based supported accommodation provider. Previous to this I had served a long prison sentence for robbery.
My timeline begins with a crazy childhood, my mother and father was both addicts, I witnessed lots of domestic violence in the home and due to this I spent time in children’s homes before being returned to my mother. I was expelled from school and began to take drugs and alcohol leading onto committing crime..
Since being at St Edmunds Charity and talking about my childhood with my support
worker I now see how my early childhood has had a bad impact on my choices and
behaviours and with the encouragement from my support worker I know in order to
move forward positively, my thoughts and feelings required exploring.
I agreed to a referral to Talking therapies, following an assessment I am now on the
waiting list for counselling. I have been encouraged to attend an abstinence based
project 2 x weekly in order to maintain my sobriety, I also like the holistic therapies as
they make me feel relaxed.
During my 1-1 meetings with my support worker I was able to freely discuss my plans
for my future moving forward. I didn’t attain any GSCE’s at school and felt like I have
nothing tooffer. Through discussion I said I would like to work in construction. Me and
y support worker discussed how I could do this so we made a plan. Part of my plan
involved being referred to Skills and Work. Moving on I have now completed my CSCS
rogramme and I am now planning to obtain my Fork Lift Truck License moving forward
in order to gain skills I need to work in construction.
St Edmunds charity has supported me to live semi-independently having felt
institutionalised during my time in prison. I’m learning how to pay bills, budget, shop
nd to keep my flat clean and tidy. I am now in receipt of all benefit entitlements and I
ave learnt how important it is to manage money appropriately.
I am now registered with the local housing authority and actively bid weekly.
St Edmunds has supported me to feel like I’m worth something, to gain in confidence
and the importance of building for a positive, safe future leaving my addiction and
riminality firmly in my past.
Case Study - DL
I came to St Ed’s from rehab and I was “gobsmacked” to have my own flat. That day I sent my
daughter photos of every room: I couldn’t believe it. “ MY OWN FLAT!!!!
When I arrived at St Ed’s I was so shy I couldn’t speak up in our Monday group…. But now things
have definitely changed! Now you can’t shut me up! I now look forward to and enjoy the meeting.
Since living here I have been referred to MIND, Talking Therapy by my Support Worker which has
helped my mental health and High Level where I trained to become a Peer Mentor.
My physical health has recently deteriorated due to a spinal problem but my Support Worker
contacted Adult Care for me. Today I even got a walker from them which will help me get out and
about then I can gain back my independence.
I am now registered with Rochdale Housing Solutions and I bid every week. I attend a group given by
St Ed’s staff called Move on Move in so I feel ready for the next chapter in my life. My own forever
flat and 5 cats!!!
I will miss St Ed’s when I leave because it really is a community and I’ve made some friends for life.
Case Study – SD
Before coming to St. Edmunds Resettlement Project, I had lived in other supported
housing provision, and nothing was changing in my life, I wasn’t going anywhere,
there wasn’t anywhere near the level of support, guidance, and encouragement in
these places that I found at St. Ed’s.
I ended up in hostels and supported housing because I didn’t get the support, love,
encouragement and guidance I needed as a child from my parents and as a result I
just drifted, used drugs and alcohol in excess, and in general made poor life choices.
Before coming to St. Ed’s I was in a very dark place, suicidal, and angry with myself
and the world. I had no self-confidence and no belief in myself; I was withdrawn and
wasn’t a sociable person and found solace in social media and virtual worlds, which
in turn can also be dark places.
Now, after being at St Ed’s for thirty months I have been able to let go of the past
and now have hope for the future. Whilst at St Ed’s I have gained in confidence,
have belief in myself, and feel motivated to be able to achieve things I never thought
I could. I can now budget and save money, I can control my emotions a lot better, I
have worked to gain independent living skill. I am now more sociable, talk more to
different people and go out for meals, I even find myself smiling a lot more than I did,
things are good.
With support from St. Ed’s, I have been able to access talking therapy to help me be
less angry with everything and to be able to deal with the trauma I faced as a child.
Since being at St. Ed’s I have re-entered education and completed creative skills
courses in maths, English and digital skills, I have also completed a 12-week
Foundation Learning course and worked on developing a Growth Mindset. I have
also completed an Independent Living Skills pack with my support worker at St. Ed’s
and participated in the Move-On workshops they deliver there, both have been very
helpful and have given me the skills and knowledge that I need to move on
successfully to independent living.
In a few weeks’ time I’m going to be starting a peer-mentoring course and like I said
earlier, “things are good” – and now I’ve got hope, self-belief, and motivation, things
can only get better…….
​Case Study - DM
Before coming to St Ed’s I was a very introverted, shy person who liked to keep myself to myself.
However since moving in I’ve found myself getting more and more confident.
I now volunteer as St Ed’s Warden which for which I’ve sat and passed numerous online exams such
as Risk Assessments, Workplace First Aid, COSHH, Manual Handling Awareness to name a few. This
has boosted my confidence, self-worth and self-esteem. As St Ed’s volunteer Warden I’m trusted to
carry out the Health and Safety checks over the weekends as part of Service User involvement.
I also volunteer 2 full days at the MIND allotment where I have made many friends. At the moment
we are all working hard as we have been told that the allotment will be featured on Gardeners
World. The allotment has won many awards over the years and it helped raise money for charity
which makes us all proud.
I’m now bidding weekly to find a flat for the future and I’m confident that I’m now ready to move on
due to the support I’ve received from St Ed’s.
Case Study - NL
Before coming to St Edmunds I was in various foster placements and just before my
18 th birthday I left my final foster placement to stay in a Taster flat in Rochdale and
had an allocated Personal Advisor from the LAC team who I felt did not support me
as I rarely saw her. The taster flat was in disrepair and I was then moved to
numerous supported accommodation facilities. My visits from my LAC worker were
minimal and I felt alone and unsupported. I then began to make use of illicit
substances due to feelings of hopelessness and isolation. I recognised my life was
on a downward spiral and sought support from the Sanctuary Café who then referred
me to Jennet House, I was then subsequently referred onto Redwood due to my illicit
substance misuse. Following which I completed a programme of rehabilitation and
was then referred to St Edmunds Charity.
During all the moves to various locations I felt anxious, nervous and alone. I had no
trust in people and felt isolated from the community. I had difficulty communicating
my feelings during any engagements.
At St Edmunds I was allocated a support worker who made me feel at ease, whom I
felt didn’t judge. I was shown my flat and almost instantly felt safe and secure. We
discussed my plans moving forward and I was happy to share my journey up until
this point.
Since being at St Edmunds I have registered with the local housing authority having
obtained I.D essential for this process and I am actively bidding in the hope of
obtaining independent accommodation. I now have a Birth Certificate, Citizen Card,
Provisional Driving License and in the process of obtaining a passport. I have been
supported with the benefits migration process and have an online Universal Credit
account. I am now in receipt of all benefit entitlements. I am currently in a voluntary
role which enables me to build structure in my life and build on my existing skills. I
have successfully completed a Combination Learning Course which has built my
confidence. In preparation for my independence I have completed the Local
Authority Independence Pack and the Move On Workshop facilitated through St
Edmunds. I have maintained my abstinence through my engagement with Recovery
services and have engaged with Skills and Work to explore future training and
employment options; this is currently on-going.
During my support meetings my allocated support worker recognised the local
authority’s responsibility under LAC provisions and successfully co-ordinated there
teams engagement. I now have a co-ordinated move on pathway and an allocated
LAC Personal advisor, and a Homeless Officer all based at Rochdale MBC.
Finally I feel supported and can now look forward to obtaining independent
accommodation with support to assist me with the move on transition. I don’t feel
scared for my future anymore and have built my identity and self-worth and
confidence to look forward to a bright, productive future.