REAL LIFE STORIES
M – CASE STUDY
M CASE STUDY
Care leaver now in independent living, NEET and isolated. Very practical with a love of sport and technology.
MENTORED
BY CHLOE
Background
M had spent most of his childhood in care, in and out of foster placements and residential homes. He attended a specialist provision from year 8 to support him with his childhood trauma. This provision became his safe and stable space. M had a background of sexual abuse, neglect, and witnessing domestic and substance abuse. When leaving post 16, he also had to leave his residential home, so there was a lot of change all at once. He started at a post 16 provision, however, very quickly dis-engaged. M found himself involved with criminal activity, NEET and living somewhere he felt unsafe.
Mentoring
M became our first mentee for Life Chance Trust. He was living in Exeter under Young Devon, however hated where he was, did not know anyone and barely left his bedroom. He had a PA who he did not engage with, so his mentor from Life Chance Trust was the only person he saw. He wanted to move and he wanted to be able to earn himself some money. He showed an interest in joining the army. M’s mentor helped build a relationship between him and his PA by inviting him along to their sessions and talking over coffee. M started to feel more comfortable reaching out to his PA when he needed support. M and his mentor then started researching the army and attended meetings with the recruitment team. In the meantime, they managed to find M a part time job working in a warehouse.
The biggest difference for M was getting him moved. His mentor supported him with conversations with his PA about wanting to move somewhere else, and eventually he was moved to Ivybridge. This made a massive difference to M, his self-confidence and ability to socialise, as his friend from school lived in the same town.
“I didn’t realise that just moving town would make a massive difference to my whole life. Without the support of my mentor, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to apply for jobs, build a relationship with my PA and reach out to old friends”.
Where are they now?
M lives in a local town, regularly seeing his friend from school. He socialises a lot with the other people in the shared accommodation, regularly working on motorbikes with another resident. His new love of bikes and cars led him to get a job at a local garage. His relationship with his PA went from strength to strength. He even cooked Christmas dinner for all the other young people he lives with.
