We recently caught up with some of the people accessing our Wellbeing Hub, delivered in partnership with the Greater Manchester Integrated Rehabilitation Service. Read below to find out what impact the hub is already having.
Background.
Sam (Participant) had been in work for nearly 30 years in a well-paid and a highly responsible role which he had to leave when he struggled to process the bereavement of close family members.
This manifested itself in the form of alcohol addiction which meant he had to leave full time employment and engage with support that he never previously thought he would have to.
Support Needs Identified.
When Sam came in for his initial appointment, he was homeless and was surviving on Universal Credit and living out of a tent. Sam didn’t have much hope or trust in services as he felt that he was being pushed from pilar to post and no one was taking him seriously or listening to him.
Foundation 92 identified that he needed housing support as well as mental health support as he been through significant trauma which had badly affected him and was causing him to be dependant on alcohol.
Support provided and challenges faced.
Sam was able to access the Foundation 92 hub counsellor within a few weeks, however due to his drinking he wasn’t as receptive to the support as he could have been. Foundation 92 staff explained the importance of being sober to access the counselling as it would not be beneficial to him if he attended intoxicated. Sam agreed and didn’t attend intoxicated again when engaging in person with the service.
Foundation 92’s Wellbeing Hub Manager, Leilha Batamuliza attended a joint meeting with Sam’s PO and housing officer to discuss his housing situation as he was getting very frustrated with his situation. As a result of the meeting Sam was able to get a room in a shared house and use his housing benefit to pay for the rent.
The house however was out of the local area so when Sam moved into the property, he felt incredibly isolated from his support system. Staff discussed in the 1-1 appointments that he had made some significant progress even though Sam wasn’t seeing that at that moment.
Sam attended the group Wellness session at the Hub and found it extremely helpful and spoke about how he would use the coping strategies that he was taught.
Throughout his support with the Hub, Sam has been in the process of applying for PIP and Foundation 92 staff supported in in this process.
Sam at different points with his time at the Hub has accessed the local foodbanks through vouchers that Foundation 92 staff were able to give him as he doesn’t receive enough money to cover his food costs.
Outcomes.
Sam is off the street and living in shared accommodation temporarily and reports feeling better now that he has a roof over his head. He has continued to engage with his Alcohol and Dependency Worker in his local area and has been more than 21 days sober and said: ‘I’m determined to manage my dependency on alcohol”.
Sam was awarded his personal independence payment and said: “This has improved my financial and mental well-being”.
Sam added: “Attending the Wellness group sessions at the Hub has helped to stabilise my mental wellbeing and has motivated me to work on myself to improve other areas of my life.
When Sam is having a bad day and feeling down, he still feels able to contact the Wellbeing Hub and is happy to come in for a quick chat to talk about what is bothering him and where possible caseworkers can offer him some advice or guidance to deal with the presenting matter.
The Wellbeing hub has supported Sam several times to get food using the food bank vouchers when he was still homeless which also contributed to improving his wellbeing.