Tel: 01392 422396 (office), 01392 217550 (centre), Fax: 01392 439758
Email: gill@stpetrocks.org.uk

Case Studies

All the following are real cases. The names, but very little else, have been changed. All these clients were in the caseload of just one of our project workers.

Annette

Annette was a victim of family breakdown, and had a long history of being in care, followed by sleeping rough. By the time she first visited St Petrock's she was a heavy user of amphetamines. She was pregnant by another rough sleeper, a 22-year-old man, Adam (also with a care background and addicted to alcohol). She refused to contact antenatal services because she was afraid Social Services would take her baby away. In fact her baby was put on the At Risk register before it was even born.

After Annette had been working with one of our keyworkers for a period of time and had established trust, St Petrock’s arranged for the midwife to meet Annette at St Petrock's. This was to encourage Annette to address the needs of her baby but also to make her feel comfortable in a known environment with St Petrock’s staff members on hand for support. Annette then began to have scans and go to antenatal classes with the midwife. Annette’s keyworker attended most of her appointments as well and negotiated with Social Services on Annette’s behalf to secure an agreement that Annette and Adam would, with the required help, change their lives and prove that they would be able to look after a baby with support. St Petrock’s found them supported accommodation (with 24-hour cover and only four other residents).

Annette kept all her appointments and worked with a special midwife experienced in cases of addiction. Adam linked in with support agencies to help him with his alcohol dependency. Both Annette and Adam learned to cook and budgeting skills.

The baby was born in hospital and went to Annette’s grandmother for foster care. Parenting classes were arranged and there were supervised visits to the baby. Annette and Adam are now waiting to move into a flat with support from Social Services. Both are now free from their addictions.

Ben

Ben is 58 years old and has learning disabilities. His mother died when he was thirty, and he never knew his father. He moved into a flat on his own, but this arrangement soon collapsed and Ben wandered onto the streets. When he first came to St Petrock's he was experiencing extreme back pain, and was unable to access food or other basic needs when we were closed. Once he was lying down it would take him hours to crawl for support to get him back on his feet.

When Ben accessed St Petrock’s, our first priority was to get him seen by a GP, but were told we would have to wait weeks for referrals and appointments. Ben could not wait this long, so we took him to the hospital and told them he was unable to look after himself. He was admitted, and after a week they discovered that he had a form of cancer of the spine which would need three-monthly treatment over the next five years, (which was as long as they expected him to live). They tried to discharge him.

We insisted that Ben was unable to survive on the street. He was moved to various other hospitals, mostly those which cared for the elderly as they were unable to find anywhere more suitable. His keyworker visited him twice a week and arranged visits to St Petrock's for him. St Petrock’s were authorised by Ben to sort out his financial affairs.

After three months Ben was housed in a residential home for the elderly. He was unhappy and became withdrawn. His keyworker knew of a residential home out of the Exeter area which had clients of fifty years old and over who had problems similar to Ben’s. We arranged for Exeter Council to pay for the accommodation. With the local doctor and the owners of the home we set up a care plan to cover his medical needs. With their help we arranged for him to join art and bird-watching groups and keep fit classes.

This year Ben went on holiday with other residents in a holiday camp, the first holiday he had ever had. He now baths himself, walks five miles plus every day, and goes to Bingo, the joy of his life.

What Ben’s lifespan will be we do not know. We do know he is living a life that is rich with stimulation, companionship and care.

Charlie

Charlie was in his 50’s when he came to St Petrock’s but had been out of the Army for over 8 years.

He had done well during his time, rising to the rank of sergeant. By the time he was asked to leave, he had been demoted to private due to a severe alcohol dependency. He left having to support a young family, which due to the nature of the forces lifestyle had moved around frequently and had no local connection.

Charlie’s marriage broke down and he started rough sleeping. The alcohol dependency got worse, due to suffering severe flashbacks and post-traumatic stress syndrome from his time in the forces. During his 8 to 10 years of an unsettled lifestyle, he sustained his dependency by shoplifting. This eventually led to the first of many spells in prison.

Charlie’s life cycled between periods of rough sleeping, staying in a hostel and prison. During these cycles he would visit St Petrock’s for support and would begin to address his alcohol dependency with signposting to outside agencies and received counselling to overcome his post-traumatic stress syndrome. Our project worker also visited him in prison and in hostel accommodation. This was the first time in his life that Charlie had remained in one place for a substantial period of time. St Petrock’s offered a continuity of support, no matter what stage of the cycle Charlie was currently in.

Charlie began to suffer from liver failure and spent a considerable period of time in hospital. Once he was released, our project worker referred him to a supported dry house and remained in contact through mentoring. As Charlie had addressed his alcohol problem, it became apparent that to sustain this, he would have to move away from Exeter and his circle of ‘drinking’ friends.

He moved to North Devon and our project worker linked him in with the British Legion Social club in the area, to meet and empathise with fellow ex-forces personnel who found themselves in similar circumstances. The British Legion helped Charlie find a private rented flat and shortly afterwards, he retrained as a gas fitter.

Charlie is still working in this trade and has recently started a new relationship.

Hannah

Hannah’s earliest memory is being dragged by her hair, her bare feet scrapping across the ground and bleeding, and eventually her face being crushed against an exterior wall. She thinks she was three years old but knows it was her father who dragged her.

Sadly, Hannah has got far too many memories like that one, which span her entire childhood. She called Social Services once after watching her step-mum administer a severe beating to her five-year-old sister’s head. Somehow Hannah’s family slipped through the net and no action was taken, except Hannah was punished for her insolence. Hannah decided there was no one she could trust. She made herself safe by running away at the age of 13. She got involved with a succession of men who were significantly older than her. Hannah started to believe that love was not only pain, but it could be earned through sex too.

We met Hannah when she arrived with her boyfriend in Exeter. He was 8 years older than her and had met her when she was 13. She was sixteen years old. She and her boyfriend were rough sleeping in doorways and selling the Big Issue for an income. They were both addicted to heroin.

Understandably Hannah at first did not trust us at St Petrock’s, but slowly she began to engage with her keyworker. Hannah would not stay in the centre for more than a few minutes at a time as her boyfriend always demanded she get back out onto the street to sell the Big Issue. Sometimes she would come in crying telling us he had beaten her. Stories from the street community confirmed this and even more disturbingly he was prostituting her.

The keyworker dug into Hannah’s history and found she was on a Youth Offending order and known by several Social Services Offices around the county.

Her keyworker kept trying to offer her a space in the only hostel that would take her but she said she couldn’t leave her boyfriend. She was too young for domestic violence hostels and because of her addiction no one was able to support her.

By now Hannah had started to use more heroin and also crack cocaine. She was very dirty, smelly, not eating and the abuse from her boyfriend had increased. She would not see a doctor despite the fact she was now coughing up blood. Her worker generally believed Hannah was at risk of dying, either through a drug overdose, assault or physical health problems. Her worker referred her to a specialised young person’s drug worker.

Hannah had been due in Court because she had breached her Supervision order. She had failed to attend Court twice before so a warrant was issued. Her worker at St Petrock’s knew the only way to get Hannah off the streets and seen by a doctor was to tell the Police where she was and get her arrested. The worker spoke to female officers who already knew Hannah and would be sensitive and not scare her. This was a drastic response to an emergency situation.

Hannah was picked up and taken to a female prison. Her worker visited her there. Hannah served a 12-day sentence, not due to her crime but because accommodation could not be found for her to support her health needs. Hannah said prison was like a 5 star hotel to her. She liked being safe and enjoyed the opportunity to access education.

Hannah is now in a female hostel. She has been keeping most of her appointments and is addressing her addiction issues. Her worker from St Petrock’s keeps in touch but is trying to support Hannah to move on.

Slowly she is opening up to her new keyworker at the hostel. She is still in her abusive relationship but at least she has a sanctuary now to retreat to. It is still very early days for Hannah but she has just started to do the normal things a young women does, like wash and comb her hair. This may seem a small thing, but to those who know Hannah, this is a huge achievement.

Ignorance...A poem by Skandy

Why is it that people bypass us and act like we're not here? Or shout and scream and swear at us - Surely this ain't fair. Why is it people hang their heads with shame upon their faces? Going back towards their lives, their beds But we don't know these places. As people pass, they're all unique Their colours, creeds and races, And just because we're the odd, 'black sheep' They don't see past our faces. So we don't have any bills to pay No house to pay our keep But that don't mean I'm not a person Just because I'm on the streets!

Most people have a house to go to With warmth and food to eat Do they realise quite what we go through, Surviving on the streets. OK - we often ask for things - For clothes or food or cash: You can try to busk or beg or sing But most will just walk past. A simple, "No, sir - not today," Is fine, polite and real We never meant to live this way They don't know how we feel. So next time when you hear, "Please sir," Please don't ignore our plea Don't snigger, "Look at him, or her," Cause that's not them - It's me.