Participant Profile
Lisa is 17 years of age and was referred to Impact Art's Fab Pad by her support worker.
Lisa has had support for a few years due to addiction problems within the household. She ran away from home on several occasions before turning 16, at which point was given residential care.
Lisa found this transition very difficult as she had never lived away from home before and even with the help from support staff and other residents she felt vulnerable and sad. “I really missed my little brother but knew I couldn’t stay at home anymore, it just wasn’t an option”
After a number of months within residential care, support workers helped Lisa to apply for her own tenancy as she had reported that this would be the next step she would like to take to ‘get my life back on track’.
Project Input
At this point Lisa was referred to Fab Pad. She was initially very anxious about coming onto the programme as she hadn’t been part of any other groups since school and more recently had being doing very little during the days. She reported to us that she hadn’t been very academic at school and had lost a lot of self-esteem. She was very unsure what she wanted to do regarding employment or education.
On her first few visits Lisa was very quiet and unsure. However, the other participants welcomed her fully onto the programme. By having a set lunch break during the day Lisa was able to chat properly with fellow clients who were very keen to tell her about their experiences and what they had been working on. Lisa soon became more comfortable in the workshop and appeared pleased with the new social environment she had become a part of.
“I got on well with the others in the workshop, one person even had the same support worker as me. “A couple of the older girls were very caring as I was the youngest in the workshop.”
Within a couple of months of joining the project Lisa moved into her new flat. She reported that this had been a scary time but had been very pleased she was part of the Fab Pad project as it had made the move much easier. Lisa reported that focusing on what she was going to do to the house to make it her home was very positive. She worked hard in each and every workshop and was always available for home visits with our interior designers.
Lisa’s main focus within her new flat in the initial stages was decorating a room for her little brother to have when he came to visit. We were able to get her to include him in this process, which she was delighted about.
Lisa met with the project coordinator on a regular basis so that they could support her where possible. From these meetings a number of areas were highlighted:
Lisa was keen to undertake some type of further education/training but was unsure what to do.
Lisa had renewed family contact and was taking it a step at a time.
Lisa rarely ate she explained that she had had problems with food for a number of years. She didn’t think she was anorexic but knew her actions were not helping herself develop.
Progression
Throughout her time on the project Lisa developed in a number of ways;
Lisa made fantastic progress in her tenancy. She admitted that she still struggled at times but was really pleased to have been able to make it look the way she wanted it to. She still continuously has new ideas about what she would like to do with the place.
Her Self esteem increased week by week. She eventually had enough confidence, knowledge and skills to help new participants on the project.
She was referred onto a ‘return to study’ college course in Cardonald College where she decided she would re-sit a couple of her standard grades. She is keen to get into a pre nursing course eventually.
Lisa continues to have a turbulent relationship with her mother, the family are all receiving some family support/therapy from a local counselling service.
Lisa was referred to a nutritionalist at her local health centre and is continuing to receive support on this issue.
Lisa now has a number of friends who are a positive influence on her life. She has reported that she is no longer keen to go out into the streets at night, where she would often drink alcohol and get caught up in trouble. She is keen to get through college and make a good life for herself.
“Fab Pad helped me at a hard time in my life. I really liked the project and have already recommended it to other people”.
The fab pad team are delighted with Lisa’s progress. We will continue to support her in this next stage of her life.