Case studies

From rough sleeping to his own bungalow

bpha Independent Living Officer (Rough Sleepers), Janice Liburd, tells us about the difference the rough sleeper programme has made to one customer.

Within our supported housing service, we have ten properties available for rough sleepers who are referred to us by Bedford Borough Council. The aim of the service is to provide customers with somewhere safe to live as independently as possible, with support. Customers generally live in supported housing for up to two years – until they’re ready to move into a bpha home where they’ll live independently.

The council team will ask me to meet a rough sleeper they feel would benefit from being in supported housing. I’ll meet with them initially to find out more about them and their needs, complete an assessment to gather the necessary information– and then take that information to a panel meeting to discuss whether they would benefit from being supported in one of our properties.

That’s how Mr C. came to live in a bpha home, although I didn’t start working with him until just over a year ago. He has faced many challenges over the years, including his mental health. It’s not unknown for customers in his position to struggle to accept support, and that was his situation.

Mr C has anxiety, depression and at times suffers with sciatica. He has recently received a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, which is also called Borderline Personality Disorder.  The communication with agencies has been difficult at times, but with the right back-up it was felt he could live well in a supported home.

A challenging situation

At the time I started working with Mr C he had some repair issues in his home. He found it stressful having various contractors coming in and at the idea that it would involve several visits to resolve.

I had to slowly build a relationship with him so that we could help. This wasn’t easy as his mental health status and sleep difficulties could change from day to day and during these times when things became overwhelming for him, he would regularly block me from calling his phone. Some of the experiences he previously encountered could make it difficult for him to build trust and while I appreciate it has not always been easy to communicate with him, he been let down by people and organisations in the past, so I do understand.

Building a relationship

The difficulty of dealing with a vulnerable customer, particularly if works are needed on their home, is that if a lot of people are involved, it’s easy to put a foot wrong. For example, we’d briefed a contractor not to leave the flat without telling Mr C that he was popping out, and ensuring the front door is secured. For whatever reason that didn’t happen, the contractor was refused access. Clear communication is key – if someone has a situation fully explained, step-by-step, it can make a huge difference to how this can impact their mental health, and how they could react.

We now have regular contact – if he’s had a bad day, I know to wait, text him to ask how he is and tell him to contact me when he’s ready, and he does.

He had a poor view of the mental health service based on his experience with them, so wouldn’t have anything to do with the team, so he wasn’t getting the support needed. He consented to me having contact with his GP to request his medication was prescribed directly.

Moving on

Usually, someone in supported housing will be there for up to two years, until they’re ready to move on and live more independently. Mr C came to us during the Covid pandemic so between that and the times where we had lost communication, getting to a place where he was ready to move on has taken longer – four years.

We chatted about him moving on. He liked the idea of a bungalow with some garden and a suitable home became available. A managed move allows us to ensure someone like Mr C, who has particular needs and who may be negatively affected by a move, moves to a home that is suitable for them and allows them to live as well as possible.

We had to carefully prepare him for the move, reminding him that it can generate anxiety and it takes time to get to know people and settle into new communities – of course I didn’t want him to have any avoidable friction.

He called me this week to say that his neighbour’s garden is overgrown so he cut it back a bit from his side and the neighbour had come outside and challenged him. He told me: “I just went inside and shut the door, I don’t want any disputes, I don’t want to start off like that.” That’s a huge step forward. I told him ‘well done’ – it’s amazing compared to how he may have reacted in the past.

Mr C wasn’t having family contact but since he’s moved, I’ve heard him say that he’ll try to get in touch with them and he’d like his grandchildren to play in the garden. He generally keeps himself to himself, I’ve visited and found him outside talking with one of his new neighbours. He just loves his new home and told me he doesn’t want to do anything to put it at risk.

It's not been easy and I can’t say there won’t be any problems in the future but for now, things are good, because this is a new start. He sent me a picture a couple of days after he moved in and it looks absolutely amazing – I thought, okay, we've got pride here, and I can definitely see a change in him now.

We talk through his communication with the agencies and organisations he has contact with and the sort of response he’s likely to get. He’s understanding this more and more. I can now express ‘I'm actually finding the conversation difficult today because of your language’, and he’s been mortified and apologised to me.

What’s next:

My role is working with the rough sleepers, helping them live well and within their tenancy conditions in supported housing. That does mean I have to move on, so slowly and surely I’ll be reducing the amount of contact I have with Mr C, and his Housing Officer will become his first contact. That won’t be easy but I do think we’ll get there.

Mr C:

“It’s lovely here, a real community where everyone says ‘hello’. My main concern at home was that with paranoia, it could take me two and a half hours to watch an episode of Coronation Street. Every sound I hear from outside gets me pausing the TV and having to look. But my bedroom and my lounge are at the back of the house so I can’t hear anything, which makes a real difference.

“Everything Janice has ever done for me, she’s come up trumps – it’s a testament to her character and her passion for her job. She’s helped me with my mental health more than my GP and it’s because she works with you, alongside you and for you.”

 

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