Eric’s* history

Eric was a young man with a diagnosis of moderate learning disabilities and suspected mental health needs. Eric had always lived at home with family, until he was taken into hospital under a section 2 as support with his family had broken down.

When the social services team first met Eric he was underweight and unkempt as he wasn’t looking after himself and had refused to shower or cut his hair for 3 years.

As it was not safe for Eric to return back to his family home, an urgent referral was made to multiple providers of supported living accommodation. Finding a placement was difficult for social services as some providers needed a certain time period to carry out an assessment to ascertain the support he would need. However, we were able to assess Eric within 2 hours and agreed that we could support his needs.

When Eric came to us

A clear transition plan was put in place and shared with all the involved professionals to ensure that Eric had the opportunity to meet with his new support team and build up a rapport with them. He then progressed to visiting the service to meet his fellow
tenant and see if he wanted to live there. Eric knew after the first visit that he wanted to move in straight away.

Eric then made several visits to the service to have meals, take part in activities and also to have an overnight visit to ensure that he had made the right decision.

Eric’s care

The team worked with Eric initially to help him with a personal hygiene routine and to learn to take pride in his appearance. With staff support and encouragement he even was comfortable attending the barbers to have his hair cut.

Eric was supported by his staff team to develop his own independent living skills. He learnt how to manage his money and benefits. He learnt how to access the community safely, look after his own home with daily living tasks like laundry and cleaning and has even dabbled in preparing his own food and drinks including sandwiches and cups of tea.

Eric today

Eric still has his own tenancy agreement and is being supported in his own home by Yorkshire Supported Living. He is unrecognisable to the nervous, unkempt young man that first arrived, he is looking healthy and happy and thriving in his own home.

Eric’s social worker commented, “Eric is slowly developing confidence and interacting well with staff and other individuals. He was underweight and unkempt when he first moved in, but he is now looking heathier and presentable. This placement is a huge success.”

*Name has been changed to protect his identity