REAL LIFE STORIES
H – CASE STUDY
H CASE STUDY
16 year old who had nowhere to live, no education lined up and was feeling lonely. Tech lover, caring and dog mad.
MENTORED
BY CHLOE
Background
When H joined our mentoring programme, she had recently finished year 11 at a specialist provision. She was temporarily living with her Grandad and did not have education sorted for the September. 6 months before, her placement broke down due to the bereavement of her special guardian. H then moved in with her cousin, however this also broke down. Now living with Grandad, which could only be for 2 weeks, she did not have many options. Young Devon had just started to support, and supportive living was suggested. H, however, wanted to live with her Mum who she hadn’t really had contact with in 10 years. Social Services were also involved and H was feeling frustrated that her voice was not being heard.
Mentoring
Chloe started working with H with the main focus being education for September. Social Services and Youth Devon were focusing on H’s living situation, however, it was apparent to Chloe that trying to sort education was not the priority. It was important that H felt safe, and settled somewhere first. Chloe spent time supporting H with meetings and ensuring her voice was being heard about what she wanted. It was agreed that H could go back to live with Mum, providing assessments were done and she was safeguarded. With Chloe and H building a strong relationship, H felt comfortable to talk to Chloe about how the living arrangements were going. With home feeling more settled, they started to sort education. With only a couple of weeks to go before September, it was important to get everyone on board to help. Chloe spent time talking to Social Workers, 0-25 caseworkers and colleges to get H registered to a course she would be happy with. College visits were organised and H was able to visit before starting full time. With anxiety high, Chloe supported H on her first day by driving her and ensuring she knew where she was going. Public transport was also causing anxiety, so we helped to apply for a taxi which was put in place the week after. She has attended every day since!
“I feel happier, more independent, closer to family and like a different person”.
Where are they now?
H has now attended college everyday. She has made friends as well as meeting with old friends from school. She has her provisional driving licence which we applied for, and she is feeling settled in her home environment. In our last few sessions, we are going to work on getting on a train so she can travel to see her Grandparents she has recently got in touch with.
