Hollie came to us in October 2021 after being served her notice from 24 hour supported housing. Prior to this, Hollie had also been evicted from a mother and baby unit due to antisocial behaviour. Her son was subsequently placed into foster care.
Hollie was unable to live at home with her family due to extremely strained relationships with her family. She had substance misuse issues, mental health difficulties and was in an abusive relationship with an older male. Her partner also struggled with substance misuse with Class A drugs.
Hollie was then housed with Moving On. During the first few months with us, the first thing Hollie wanted to work on was getting her son back. We engaged with social services and assessments were completed. Unfortunately, Hollie did not engage with the support services offered to her and her son was placed into long term foster care with the aim to be adopted. This had a detrimental impact on Hollie’s mental health and as a result, her substance use increased. She and her partner began shoplifting to fund these habits. Her partner was sentenced to one year in prison for shoplifting and attacking a police officer.
Things didn’t get any better and Hollie then starting allowing two homeless males to stay at her property. Hollie’s engagement was erratic and she would often hide from her support worker and when Hollie did engage, she was present physically, but not mentally. Things got worse and Hollie was unfortunately served her notice.
This was a bit of a wake-up call and, faced with homelessness again, Hollie agreed to have a meeting with her support worker and the support manager to discuss a plan of action. Referrals were made to support services including mental health, substance misuse and domestic abuse support.
It was agreed that, if Hollie engaged well with support, that the notice would be rescinded. Hollie’s engagement has since dramatically improved. Hollie seeks out guidance and engages actively with her support worker regularly. She now engages with mental health services, Harbour (for domestic abuse support), joined the gym, reduced her substance misuse and has now stopped using which is a fantastic achievement.
Hollie has most recently completed a level one college course. Hollie invited her support worker to a presentation event at her college where she received her first ever certificate. Some close family members also attended to show their support.
This was a huge achievement for Hollie and she was extremely proud of herself. She intends to return to college to complete her maths and English qualifications and is actively looking for part-time employment. She is also taking more pride in herself and her home and working on her family relationships. Hollie is working on an appeal to the court in regards to her son’s adoption and is currently working on a statement to showcase the progress she has made so far.
Hollie is more determined than ever to change her life and break the cycle that she has been living in.