Mental health support for people in temporary accommodation

Content warning: this case study contains references to depression and suicide.

Aadan* was referred to the Wellbeing Support Team when another service wanted him to access some mental health support.

He was living in a hotel room with his two young children. He had been in a relationship but it had broken down after 18 months. During this time, he had given up his flat and moved in with his partner. When the relationship ended, the family were told to leave and found themselves on the street.

Aadan’s mental health was very poor. He suffers with depression, anxiety, ADHD and a personality disorder. He has legal guardianship of his two young children.

When the family found themselves without a home, the council placed them in one room in a hotel, but they were being moved to a different hotel every Thursday without prior warning, constantly travelling across the city. This was disruptive to the children’s schooling as they were sometimes placed on the other side of the city to their school. There were no cooking facilities in the room so they had to buy take-aways or eat cold food. During the evenings, Aadan had to sit with the lights off so the children could sleep.

He spoke about ending his life and putting his children in the care of Social Services. The children had had a Social Worker, but they had closed the case as they had no concerns about the children’s care.

Our Multiple Needs Worker referred Aadan to the Homeless Mental Health Team. He is now taking medication for depression and ADHD and has starting talking therapy.

We contacted the city council’s Housing Aid provision and asked for the family to be moved into more appropriate temporary accommodation. The family have now been placed in a flat for 90 days.

We also successfully applied to a charitable trust for bus passes so that his children could attend play activities during the school holidays.

Aadan is calmer and feels more in control of his situation. The children have a degree of stability and have settled into their new surroundings. The school says the children are happy and thriving and aren’t causing disruption in class as they did previously.

Aadan would love his own tenancy and is thinking about trying some basic training in English and Maths. He wants to be able to help his children with school work and find a part-time job.           

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

Read more about our Wellbeing Support Team.