Hannah was referred to us whilst sofa surfing between friends – one of which was already a tenant with us.
Hannah had an extensive history of mental health difficulties, some of which were undiagnosed. Hannah had taken to masking her issues with drugs and alcohol which only made her symptoms worse. This had made Hannah’s relationship with her parents very strained whilst living at home and meant she was unable to live there.
To begin with, Hannah required a lot of support to get set up in her new home. She was unable to do admin tasks like making phone calls without the assistance of her support worker and would get very stressed and overwhelmed at the thought of this.
Hannah was assisted in registering with her local GP and transferring mental health support to her new area. Hannah settled in well and she found having her own space and living to her own schedule positive to her mental health in general. This enabled her to repair her relationship with her family and see them on a weekly basis without any issues. Hannah had already begun to make positive changes to her own life and was no longer drinking regularly or using drugs at all.
Hannah remained in her property with us for 2 years and – whilst her mental health conditions remained a daily struggle – there were no issues of self-harm or hospital admissions and she continued to remain drug free. Hannah also worked with our in-house Mental Health Worker and made great progress in understanding her issues and how to manage these effectively, which included getting out for regular walks and being accompanied by her worker on days she felt like she needed some encouragement.
Hannah gradually built up confidence to start following up on things like issues with utility companies herself without needing someone to do this for her.
Discussions about moving on to Council accommodation eventually was a regular talking point throughout Hannah’s tenancy, and this process was started about 6 months prior to Hannah moving out so she felt ready and prepared for this change. Moving On were able to provide a glowing reference for Hannah as a prospective tenant!
Hannah wanted to remain in the local area where she now felt comfortable and had her own independence away from her family whilst also being close enough to see them regularly. Hannah also took responsibility for saving in order to be able to pay for any moving costs and items she would need for her new home.
Hannah was supported to bid on properties through DKO (Durham Key Options) and was matched very quickly with a lovely home. Her support worker attended the viewing with her and she was delighted to be able to sign for a new long-term tenancy with a social housing provider.
Hannah was supported to organise a list of things she needed to do like setting up her new utilities, council tax and changing her address with the bank etc. but she was now able to do this independently. Hannah has kept in touch with her support worker and is very happy in her new home.