I came to M3 because I had a lot of family problems…
I came to M3 because I had a lot of family problems. It’s helped me to become more independent and motivated. With Dawn’s help, I am now looking forward to moving on and getting my own place.
Raj
Lodgings Case Study – Beccy
Beccy came to M3 at 17 years old after her accommodation options had dried up. Following the breakdown of her relationship with her mother, Beccy had left home to live with her older sister. This hadn’t worked out well, and Beccy found herself homeless again with few options other than a place in local hostel accommodation. As she was in the middle of studying for A levels at a Sixth Form College in a neighbouring borough, this didn’t present itself as an ideal option.
Beccy was matched to a placement in her home town, but close to bus routes to and from college and in an area she was already familiar with. She was placed with a family, though most of our placements are with single people, but this suited her as she was used to having younger siblings around.
Beccy stayed with the project at this placement for almost a full year whilst she finished her A levels and has now gained a place at University. Her relationship with her mother has improved and she now has a little more contact with her family.
Teenage Family Case Study – Kevin and Becki
Since being on M3, we feel it was one of the best choices we had made. There are many skills in life that are difficult such as living on your own. M3 helped us with this skill. We have found that since joining the project our lives have become hassle free. For example: we had certain needs to be met and M3 helped us by looking for a family home which took the stress of house searching off our hands. Whilst moving in together we realised we didn’t have any idea about living on our own until we joined the M3 project.
Once we were accepted onto the project we were assigned a support worker who dealt with our tenancy and has supported us throughout. Our tenancy has lasted for 12 months. This gives our support worker enough time to work with us to teach us the basic skills of life. Unfortunately, due to complicated circumstances, we got delayed on the training. My partner and I thought living away from our parents would be easier as there is nobody to tell you what to do, but the reality is that living on your own is one of the most stressful things you will ever do in life which is where M3 helped us. The M3 project took the stress off our hands.
In the 12 months we were on the project we learnt all the knowledge we needed to know about living on our own. We attended a small training course which is guaranteed to help us in the future. At these sessions (training days) we learnt how to manage our own tenancy, how to deal with rent, who to contact if there is a problem within the property, form filling, how to budget money etc. Everything we will need to know about a tenancy and Living in Life. Our support worker within this project was, and still is, very professional but also very approachable and friendly. If we had a problem about the property and housing or a confidential problem our support worker was always there for us to contact if we needed to talk. My partner and I both found that we could talk to our support worker without keeping anything back and we were given very useful advice both about housing and personal matters. We found our support worker had become a friend as well as a professional worker. The support worker we were assigned helped us with everything from housing to childcare groups/nurseries.
As we are reaching the end of our tenancy we are both 100% confident about moving on and managing our own property. Thanks to M3 we have learnt all the basic skills in life. We would advise anyone aged between 16 – 25 that is thinking about moving into their own property to think about using the M3 project as it is very useful and once your 12 month tenancy is up that is stage one of living on your own complete.
Lodgings Case Study – Dan
Dan was kicked out of home following the breakdown of his parent’s relationship and substance misuse in his family home. Without a network of friends in a position to support him, he quickly found himself with nowhere to sleep and was referred to M3 by the local Housing Options team.
As a homeless 17 year old, Dan was considered to be in priority need for housing and luckily was able to access our accommodation quickly, being placed with one of our Householders near to the area he was familiar with. He had no money, very few belongings but in the first few weeks was supported to claim benefits in his own right and maintain his college place amidst the chaos.
Dan is now settled into his lodgings placement and is finishing off his college studies before deciding what his next move will be. He has maintained contact with his parents throughout this period and is looking forward to moving into more independent accommodation.