As we focus on the women we work with throughout March, here one of Support Workers gives us a case study of ‘Vicky’, a client that he has supported for a number of years. Vicky lives alone on the streets, with only her dog for company.
‘Vicky hasn’t always lived around these parts. She travelled around with her mother when she was very young and then was looked after by her grandma during her teenage years. She struggled with pains when she was young but never had it looked at properly until finally being diagnosed with a rare condition as a teenager. This resulted in being prescribed strong pain killers for an extended amount time whilst still very young. Vicky loves animals and reading books and if life were different would probably choose to live in the countryside and be self-sufficient.
Vicky has children but after their father died they were taken in to care and she has no contact with them other than letters. Vicky has a few pictures of her children and it is clear that these are extremely valuable to her. If Vicky had to abandon most of her earthly possessions it is these photographs that she would choose to take with her.
Working towards some sort of stability has been a consistent struggle for Vicky in all the time Simon on the Streets has known her. Maintaining a tenancy is a real struggle due to the on-going chaotic lifestyle which largely revolves around trying to make money to feed an addiction to heroin and alcohol. A long-standing sofa surfer and rough sleeper – Vicky has had some lengthy stints in temporary accommodation and one tenancy of her own, but once problems surrounding the tenancy started to be reported by neighbours, Vicky simply didn’t have the life skills to put things right. Vicky struggles with depression, anxiety and feelings of paranoia. She is prone to panic attacks and sometimes has to have a drink just to go in to a shop. When relying on substances that much for basic day-to-day interactions you are unlikely to communicate with a landlord very effectively.
I remember meeting Vicky to go collect a set of house keys from the Council. She said she needed to finish her drink before she could make a move. I remember not being sure what to make of this but I waited around for her anyway. When she got up she ended up vomiting on the side of the street before continuing to walk with me through the city. When she calmly said she felt poorly, she wasn’t kidding and an alcoholic drink was probably the only thing she had to help her feel any less sick. This is the norm that Vicky and others surely live through week after week, month after month.
Vicky has shared how she doesn’t feel good in doors. She will always choose to wait outside when attending appointments – anything to avoid sitting in a waiting area. Vicky also struggles with new people which makes engaging with services that much easier to put-off or avoid altogether. Another barrier for Vicky has been her dog. She wasn’t allowed pets at her last tenancy but with so few housing options she took it anyway which meant her housing was jeopardised from the start. It is also difficult being on your own with a dog. On the one hand the dog is a vital and precious companion. But on the other is yet another reason to not attend services for necessary appointments because you can’t take the dog in and you can’t bear to leave the dog outside in case it is recognised and taken. This may sound unlikely, but it really isn’t as unlikely as you might think. Regardless of a genuine risk of theft or not, Vicky’s state of mind just wouldn’t allow her dog to be left in any case. Wondering why bother having a dog at all? Well, Vicky has experienced assaults whilst sat begging in a well-lit area. That’s one reason.
I was once on evening outreach and had already spoken with Vicky just a short time earlier in the evening. Upon returning that same evening Vicky told me that she had been assaulted by someone wanting to give her or her dog her leftover chips. Vicky said she declined and explained that it wasn’t good for the dog to eat chips either. What followed was a verbal and physical assault right there in the street. Vicky told me about this trying not to break down saying, ‘I don’t know how much more of this I can take’. Next, a police officer approached and questioning whether Vicky had been involved in an alleged fight outside a shop at the other end of the road. Vicky said she didn’t know anything about that but she herself had just been assaulted by somebody. I remember thinking it odd that the policeman didn’t seem to give much acknowledgement of what she had just said before walking off again. Did they not care or did they know something I didn’t? I guess I’ll never know but it does make you wonder.
Vicky is still homeless and she is still struggling with her addictions. She is not engaging with specialist drugs and alcohol services. Vicky’s health is very fragile and there is much that is untreated. She is still being sexually exploited. She is still at risk of violence from both men and women. She also still has support from Simon on the Streets. Despite her non-engagement with services, Vicky will engage with me. That’s important to both of us. For her, I think it means she has at least one person in her life that she can trust. For me, it means I know that Vicky at least has one person in her life that is looking out for her, no matter what.’