Case Study - Getting back on track

Dave (not his real name) has been supported intensively by our Outreach Worker for approximately seven months. When we first started working with Dave, he was sleeping rough, was not claiming benefits and had an all-consuming drug problem.

With support from our Outreach Worker, Dave started making some fantastic changes to his life. He began to claim benefits, found a place in supported accommodation and entered drug treatment.

Unfortunately, the living conditions Dave was in did little to help his mental health problems. As is so often the case with dispersed supported accommodation; tenants who shared the same drug-related struggles were never far away. This can result in escalating tensions and anti-social behaviour. In this environment it is very difficult to stay on track and Dave became stressed and frustrated as his mental health began to deteriorate. His housing provider tried their best to find solutions but this couldn't happen fast enough. Soon Dave was at crisis point which in turn resulted in hospital admissions.

We are pleased to say that things didn't completely unravel for Dave in the long term. He was moved to another flat with higher levels of support. Immediately we saw an improvement in Dave’s mental health and our support was able to focus on helping him understand why he had struggled to the extent that he did. Our Outreach Worker also worked with the housing provider to more fully separate some of the practical support from the emotional support. As a result, we were able to keep our time focussed on activities that would build Dave up in terms of his overall happiness and outlook on the future. Today this continues with weekly one-to-one visits to a café and Dave regularly insists he pays for the coffee!