Josh's Story

Josh's Story

Josh*, 17, was referred by his mum for mediation; Josh had been stealing from his mum and siblings to pay for his cannabis use. Josh’s mum was at a loss as to where to go for support, and was sign-posted to HAPI via social media. Josh’s mum did not want to ask her son to leave home, but felt that without support she may not have any other choice. 

HAPI arranged an initial appointment with Josh at college. During his appointment, Josh disclosed that he had started to hang around with the "wrong crowd", which led him to start smoking cannabis, and stealing to fund his new habit. Josh explained that since having an argument with his mum, he had realised that what he was doing was wrong. Josh also said that he loved his family, and didn't want to have to move out. 

Josh was referred to Young Addaction for support with his cannabis use, and upon speaking with the Safeguarding Team at College, it was clear that Josh was doing exceptionally well at college and they would continue to support him to carry on. 

HAPI then spent some time with Josh’s mum, and explained that support around Josh’s drug use had been requested, and college were also there to ensure Josh was continuing to excel. Josh’s mum was extremely grateful for this, and was relieved to have some support. 

Follow up work, including calls to Josh, mum, college and Young Addaction were completed by HAPI, to ensure that all support was in place. 

The relationship between Josh and his mum improved drastically, and both were attending Young Addaction appointments together. Josh continues to excel in his college work and is about to begin an apprenticeship.