“I couldn’t have done it alone…”

Rebecca* was sofa surfing at her sister’s house when she was introduced to our Tenancy Support team via her Housing Officer. At the time, she was living with her sister due to not getting along with her family. She was also dealing with anxiety and ADHD, which meant she felt she needed to move. However, Rebecca was in a very bad place mentally, and spent her days doing very little. Consequently, she was struggling to find purpose and feel positive about anything in her life.

When Rebecca was introduced to our Tenancy Support team, she was housed very quickly after being placed under emergency banding. This, she says, was crucial as her relationship with her sister was also breaking down and causing additional stress on top of the struggles she was already having.

Rebecca was also struggling with her finances and worrying about living independently. She began counselling to help with her mental health issues and stop feeling like everything was “one step forwards, two steps back”.

“I knew I wanted a career and something to focus on,” Rebecca says, “but I didn’t want to think how things might turn out. This gave me very bad anxiety and I just wanted to focus on the moment and being in a better place.”

Rebecca met with Joe, The Benjamin Foundation Job Coach after several months of support from our Tenancy Support team, and after getting her house sorted and into a better place emotionally. She immediately began to look at options for her future. With Job Coach support, Rebecca has been able to apply for college but, with her course not starting until September 2023, she is filling the time in between with an online course in Beauty Therapy. This will allow her to qualify as a Lash Technician and give her the ability to begin earning money in a role in which she sees a longer-term future.

The Job Coach was able to support this path by granting a bursary of over £200 to allow Rebecca to enroll and purchase the kits required to complete the practical assessments.

Rebecca says: “I am very thankful for the support and money contribution as I couldn’t have done it alone. From where I was six months ago to now it feels like I am in a much better place and able to think about what these things might lead to.”

Rebecca now feels less anxious about how things may turn out.

She adds: “I am just grateful and I am enjoying the opportunity. I never liked to set myself goals because of the fear of failure. When I thought about what I wanted achieve and didn’t get there, it was really difficult to deal with. I now think I would like to work together with my sister as Beauty Technicians – but I am not putting pressure on that to happen.”

Rebecca is currently working hard on her course and has made good progress. She aims to finish this prior to starting college in September where she is going to be gaining her English and Maths qualifications to help set her up for future studying and potential employment. She continues to get support from both The Benjamin Foundation Job Coach and Tenancy Support service to ensure her wellbeing and her Education, Employment and Training (EET) remains on track.

With your support, we can do even more to help young people like Rebecca in Norfolk and Suffolk to lead successful, independent lives.

Make a donation today: https://benjaminfoundation.co.uk/donate/

*Name has been changed