Real life stories of the families we have helped and how they have benefitted from the support services we provide.
The family
We received a referral for a family of four, made up of two parents and two teenagers aged 15 and 17.
Both parents had never worked, had no qualifications or work experience, and a long history of benefit dependency.
Their 17-year old son had recently dropped out of college and looked unlikely to progress into any further education, training or employment without support, and their 15-year old daughter was regularly refusing to go to school, putting her parents at risk of prosecution for her non-attendance.
The daughter was taken into temporary foster care for a brief spell, following a domestic incident between her and her father, and both parents had substance misuse issues, regularly using alcohol, cannabis and consuming high volumes of energy drinks.
The mother confessed to struggling with household routines and felt unsupported by her partner or children, which would result in her just giving up. Rubbish was piling up in the front and back gardens and the property was in a poor condition and in need of a number of repairs.
The father was very negative about the neighbourhood and particularly the neighbours, saying they do not use their back garden because they are verbally abused when they go out. Both parents stated that they do not like living there.
What we did
It was identified the family needed support with communication and mediation.
The daughter was referred to our Youth Mediation Practitioner (YMP) to help repair and improve her relationship with both parents. This work helped address the history of frequent relationship breakdowns, as well as discussing the risk of youth homelessness with both teenagers.
Being vulnerable to emotional, physical and sexual exploitation a consistent approach to the family’s parenting needed to be developed in order to keep their daughter safe and contained.
The YMP organised family meetings to discuss boundaries, expectations and routines, as well as encouraging them to spend quality time together on a regular basis.
The parents were provided with one-to-one parenting advice in respect of teenage development, and the YMP worked with their daughter to understand her wishes and feelings, as well as exploring positive activities and courses for further education, training and employment.
Morning routines were implemented to encourage the daughter to attend school and multi-agency meetings were held monthly at her school.
The outcome
- Communication in the family improve
- Both parents are now in employment and no longer claiming job seekers allowance.
- Their son returned to full-time education and secured an apprenticeship.
- Their finances are managed more effectively as result of increased income.
- Both gardens have been cleared.
- All outstanding repairs have been reported and are being dealt with.
The family no longer need our help and have worked hard to meet the goals of their support plan. Despite difficult periods both parents have remained in employment and continue to be positive role models for their children. Both agree that working has improved their confidence and self-worth.
The family have started to address a long list of household repairs to get the house in a better condition and enable the family to be happier in their environment.
The family were able to rebuild their lives and slowly felt more empowered and in control.
Despite receiving housing advice and a brief time in temporary accommodation when she turned 16, mum and dad are delighted that their daughter has remained at home and is making good progress. Both parents are proud of their children and recognise the importance of spending quality time as a family.