Mrs S was working full time in retail management, she is well educated, had a four bedroom house with a beautiful garden and two children. In 2013, she was diagnosed with an under active thyroid which led her to have trouble sleeping and eating. This coupled with life stresses of long hours, unsympathetic management, being a single parent and a lack of support at work and in her personal life were all having a negative impact on her health.

Depression kicked in and Mrs S said ‘the wheels started to fall off, a glass of wine turned into two, which turned in to a bottle’. In the following years Mrs S’s life spiralled out of control. Her family relationships broke down, she was made bankrupt, her house repossessed, she spent time in a psychiatric hospital and was made homeless. A number of local services supported Mrs S through this period and she moved into social housing. On moving into the property she continued to self-neglect and was still drinking a lot. She was in and out of mental health services, moving between Crisis team and her GP.

When Mrs S started to get her life back on track and reducing the amount of alcohol she was drinking she started to notice the music her neighbours were playing. After asking them to turn it down and facing their hostile response, Mrs S complained. Over the following three years her life was made a misery due to the relentless antisocial behaviour of her neighbours and their targeted ‘torment’.

The rift between the two neighbours ended with the police coming to see Mrs S. The Police’s judgement was that Mrs S had to be taken to A&E due to her mental health. It was at this point that the Early Action Police Team referred Mrs S to Care Network.

What did we do?

Care Network and Early Action Policing quickly identified that living in that house with those neighbours was preventing Mrs S from getting her health back on track and was the main factor responsible for keeping her at a continuous low. Care Networks role was to advocate for Mrs S, and reinforce the seriousness of the situation and need for her to be prioritised for rehousing. The aim was for Mrs S to have the opportunity to move into a neighbourhood and home which would support her recovery, improve her health and benefit her life’s journey and wellbeing. Together Housing rebanded Mrs S based on the information, evidence and rational provided

My life was completely alien to me, I was a fish out of water, I lost everything. I became fearful. Yesterday I moved in to a new house. I couldn’t have done it without Naomi and Kim…I felt there’s someone here that can actually help me. The service was excellent. Every time I went to the Care Network Hub they always made me feel comfortable, spoke to me properly and gave me time. I could not have done this on my own, I would have had no idea where to start. I’ve stopped drinking and I’m not going to start drinking again. My question is – why did it have to go so far before someone did something?

Health and Wellbeing

Mrs S was in a lose-lose situation. For as long as she remained in that flat she would continue to fall into crisis services. Mrs S has moved to a new area, where she feels able to get her life back on track. She is pursuing a volunteer position at the Care Network Hub, has a cat who she adores and her relationships with her family are improving.

Aims and Objectives of Service

Joined up multi-agency partnership working, personal safety, support for victims of anti-social behaviour, staying independent, positive mental health and stress management, support for people living with long term health conditions, volunteering opportunities.

Multi-agency partnership work provided by Care Network, Police Early Action Team, Together Housing.