Andy's story
Andy was referred to our Parenthood Team by his family support worker. He and his girlfriend were living in a small, privately rented flat with their young baby after being declared intentionally homeless. Andy had relationship problems, anger management issues, and difficulties sorting out his benefits. The family were also being supported by Children, Youth People and Families (CYP&F).
Andy had a history of missing appointments with service providers. With persistent efforts from our worker, we managed to meet up with him a month after his referral to Elmore. He said he wanted to get back into work and it was important for him to feel that he was providing for his family. He also wanted to deal with his anger.
We gradually helped Andy to access a range of services, which took a long time and a great deal of persistence. Having accessed training, he began to search for a job.
During this time, we became concerned about Andy's family's standard of living. The flat was too small for three people; there was no suitable space for the baby to sleep; and the room was not kept clean. We tried to encourage the parents to keep the place clean and talked to them about what they needed to do to keep their baby safe. This did not achieve an improvement and we raised our concerns with CYP&F. A Child Protection Plan was put in place, which provided additional support and improved the family's chances of staying together.
Andy has now found a part-time job and CYP&F is looking for new accommodation for the family. We will continue to support Andy until his situation stabilises.