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DR awaits tenancy now alcohol problem is under control

"The staff are brilliant and help me in every way they can.”

DR is a forty year old man who has lived at Fordneuk service for just over one year.  He separated from his wife around ten years ago due to his alcohol misuse. This led to him becoming homeless and moving around many hostels and other homeless services, and sleeping rough on occasion.  DR continued to drink a large amount of alcohol on a daily basis as a result of this. His problematic behaviours when intoxicated led to him being evicted from several services trying to provide support to him.  He also lost all contact with his family as a result of his alcohol abuse.  DR was also assaulted several times by people he had altercations with when he was intoxicated. His heavy levels of drinking also led to a poor physical health and several hospital admissions.

THE ISSUES

DR initially came to the service clearly requiring a lot of support. Generally, he was not looking after his own physical needs as a result of his alcohol misuse. He did not engage with any medical services or attend any GP/hospital appointments and was malnourished and underweight. He regularly suffered from seizures and would often go into alcohol withdrawals as a result of being unable to budget his money. He also required to re-learn daily living skills such as cleaning, cooking, paying utility bills, making phone calls, attending appointments, budgeting and being a good neighbour.  DR also needed support to address his alcohol issues and look at the impact it was having on his life. At the time he moved into the service, he was not sure what he wanted.  He required a service that would allow his choices to be respected and help him to lead the life he wanted to lead safely. He would eventually (after around nine months) require to move on to a suitable alternative accommodation, whether this be supported, independent living or a combination of both.

SUPPORT PLAN

Initially, staff spent time with DR addressing his needs and discussing how they could help him to safely maintain his chosen lifestyle. This included things like supporting him to register with a GP and then attend any appointments, getting medication he required and prompting him to take it, prompting him for meals to ensure he was eating regularly, and checking on his wellbeing every morning and night. Initially, DR also required a lot of staff input in terms of managing his difficult behaviour when he was intoxicated. This included defusing potentially volatile situations between himself and other service users, supporting him in the aftermath of such incidents which would involve prompting him for court, reminding and supporting him to pay fines and supporting and prompting him to attend lawyers appointments. After around nine months in the service, DR decided to stop drinking. and managed to do so without any kind of medical detox. He managed to abstain from alcohol for around six months, and staff were able to support him with getting in touch with his family again, building on his daily living skills, and resettlement. He was also supported to AA meetings which he used as an extra support.

PROGRESS MADE

DR’s whole life and outlook changed significantly when he abstained from alcohol for such a long period of time. His behaviour changed significantly for the better, he dealt with all his criminal charges and outstanding fines. Most of that change was down to his working with staff on day-to-day issues in a consistent manner . With his person centred support package, he was helped to change his life to benefit him without any help from any other  agencies.  DR is now ready to move on and live independently, albeit with a further housing support service supporting him when he does so. He now has a caseworker who is assisting him to find suitable permanent accommodation, and is in contact with his family again and has a part in their lives.

THE FUTURE

Hopefully as DR is now on the waiting list with several housing associations, he will be offered a tenancy of his own in the near future. He was offered a temporary furnished flat but chose not to accept this due to the area it was in. He will continue to require a housing support service as it is some years since he has had his own tenancy. DR has agreed with this and states he will engage with any housing support provider who will provide support to him. DR feels that if he is in his own tenancy, this will significantly reduce the risk of him returning to abusing alcohol heavily.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

DR states that he feels this is the best service he has ever been in and he is happy here. He adds: “The staff are brilliant and help me in every way they can”. D.R says that he feels he may have died if he had continued to live the way he was living before he moved to the Fordneuk service.