Ellie's Story
Ellie* was referred to hapi by a local supported accommodation provider for support to find suitable accommodation, and assistance to become more financially stable. Ellie had been living in a private foster care arrangement until she turned 16 years of age. Ellie then returned home to family but found that the house was very overcrowded and there was no space for her there. Ellie was then asked to leave by her mother and found herself sofa surfing for over 6 months. During this time Ellie was not able to attend college due to lack of financial and emotional stability; therefore she lost her place. This then led to Ellie’s emotional state deteriorating and feelings of isolation. Ellie had no stable living environment and very little personal resilience.
Ellie attended her hapi appointment where we discussed various supported housing options that are available in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. Ellie felt that she would be best placed close to her old friend from college and her family, where she would have a better support network. It was decided that a referral to Stepping Stones would be submitted via hapi. Another issue was Ellie's total lack of income. Ellie had been surviving on donations from her boyfriend for the last 6 months and had been walking everywhere as she had no money for transport. We explained the option of claiming Universal Credit which Ellie had already started to do. We explained that we could offer support with food parcels and toiletries if needed, which she declined. We also explained that there was support to apply for a free bus pass via CFW which was due to end soon. We discussed support that is available through Children’s Social Care and the Joint Homeless Protocol. Ellie agreed to a referral being submitted to CSC.
Ellie attended her appointment with Stepping Stones and was offered a shared dispersed property in Accrington (which is where her support network is based). Ellie was really pleased with this and after viewing the property, accepted the offer. The Joint Protocol meeting then took place the following day. This was attended by hapi and a representative from Stepping Stones. An agreement to support Ellie under CiN (section 17) was made during the meeting. This ensured that Ellie would get initial support to finance her placement there until her Universal Credit was in payment.
Ellie was able to stay with her boyfriend until the financial agreement was approved by CSC. There was ongoing support from hapi to ensure that the support from CSC was ongoing and ensure a smooth transition over to Stepping Stones support.
