Hi, my name is Katie. I am going to tell you my life over the past year. I move into supported lodgings after my 16th birthday because of problems at home and constant moving in and out of family members. I have sisters and brothers this made it ever so hard to get on with everyone.

I went to the Connexions Centre in Halifax as I had nowhere to go and needed to speak to someone. They introduced me to a Young People’s Service Key Worker. He then took me up to Supported Lodgings where I met one of their workers. She explained what Supported Lodgings was and I thought it sounded like the right place for me. They take their time to find the right placement for you and the first time I met my provider I felt scared, but she made me feel welcome and like I could fit in there and it could work. I moved in and although it’s not always been easy I have been happy there and learnt a lot.

During this time I changed from having a Key Worker to having a Youth Worker from Youth Works. She set me up a CAF (Common Assessment Framework), which means that all the people working with me all meet together and talks about the good things and things that can be improved. I have found this useful because I understand what everyone is doing and who is doing what. I feel happy to have that support. I have been doing 1-1 sessions with my Youth Worker working on my confidence and lots of other things.

Since I moved out I have changed a lot and learned loads of new skills with the help of my Youth Worker, my Supported Lodgings worker and college.

I think with all the support I have I am ready for the next stage and think that I will be alright to live on my own. I thank everyone who supported me.

Supported Lodgings – Project Worker’s perspective:

Following on from the assessment process, Katie moved into Supported Lodgings with Barbara and Geoffrey, with Barbara as the lead Supported Lodgings Host. Katie relays that she felt settled quite quickly, but there were areas of her life she struggled with such as who to access for support. Katie had a wide network of excellent support but would go to each agency asking for support for the same matters. This was a confusing situation for Katie and at the time was a barrier to her settling in. Sarah from Youth Works, along with Pam (Supported Lodgings Project Worker) identified the usefulness of a CAF for Katie. Katie was really on board with this and Sarah became the lead professional for Katie’s CAF. As a result of this, Katie receives effective and co-ordinated support from a range of professionals including school, us, Youth Works and other youth services. This has given Katie the best possible support around keeping safe, opportunities with community activities and progression with her education. As a result of this co-ordinated approach, Katie is much more settled and is feeling in control of her life events.

Barbara supports Katie on a day to day basis; Barbara is a listening ear and has helped Katie develop her independent living skills such as cooking and laundry. Barbara has helped Katie to develop her confidence and coping strategies around developing her independence within the home. Katie is now actively working on her move on plan and is preparing herself for life after Supported Lodgings.

Supported Lodgings Host – Barbara’s perspective:

My name is Barbara and I am the Supported Lodgings Host for Katie. I think Supported Lodgings has been really good for Katie. I feel that when she first came, Katie had a lot of situations that needed support with and I feel it initially took a little while to settle down around this.

I feel a consistent approach from me as her Host and all her support network has helped Katie manage her life. Geoffrey and I are able to give Katie a safe, supportive and peaceful home life which has given her an opportunity to work though her support needs.

Katie is a respectful lodger and easy to talk to. Helping Katie to develop as the young person she is has been very rewarding.