“It all happened in 2017. Having left an unhealthy relationship in June of that year all the way down in Kent at the age of 22, I upped and left back to my hometown of Rugby, Warwickshire. My mother’s house was overcrowded, and I was having to sleep on the floor. I approached the local council who stated that I would be put on the lowest band of the housing list. At this point, my health was deteriorating (later being diagnosed with endometriosis and chronic pain) and this started having a knock-on effect to my mental health. I was essentially homeless with just clothing to my name – no job, no support network and I felt alone.
I was then informed about Orbit Housing’s own managed block of flats and was housed into a bedsit there in August 2017. I started working at a GP practice in September but then found out I was 6 months pregnant in the October! I ended up having to quit that job due to financial reasons and being admitted to hospital every 3-4 weeks. This is when St Basils came into my life.
At the end of 2017, St Basils started working on getting me moved out of the bed sit (there were 6 flights of stairs and no lift… I was on the top floor). My support worker paved the way to getting me into suitable accommodation and I moved in to a 2-bedroom house in September 2018. St Basils helped pay for moving of my belongings, new white goods and helped get me settled in.
In 2019, my health further deteriorated, and I had 2 more operations. The support from St Basils through out this time was impeccable as I struggled mentally from being away from my baby and losing my independence. I then unfortunately went through an ordeal where I was sexually assaulted in July of 2019 and felt that all my progress was back to square one. Once it was decided that both my health and mental health were not stable enough for me to go back to work, I decided to do a degree whilst studying with the Open University. St Basils helped fund my laptop and equipment to get me started along the way and my progression coach at St Basils has constantly offered me support and assistance, even putting me on track to get work experience in Rugby within my desired career field!
My St Basils experience has been incredible throughout. Their target age is perfect – they really help young people going through times that most wouldn’t have been able to get through by themselves. Their inside knowledge on how things work such as housing and benefits is a fantastic resource as everything is automated nowadays and lacks the human support that St Basils offer.
They pride themselves on their work ethic and friendly support, so you really feel like you have someone that cares for you when they’re working with you. I would recommend St Basils to ANY young person that have found themselves at a difficult stage of their life and become homeless. Without them, I would not be studying to be a parole officer so I too can hopefully one day give back to my community”.
Anon.
Shared by Warwickshire Floating Support Service at St Basils