This year we launched our community rehabilitation transition service, which supports people who are ready to move out of 24-hour care into the community.
This helps people to recover and move on in their lives, but it also supports our NHS partners, freeing up residential care for people who really need to be there.
We're here for people like Harry - here's his story.
Harry (name changed for privacy) is in his 40s and was first referred mental health services in the early 2000s, when he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Since his diagnosis, Harry had lived in hostels and later on the street, sleeping in a cemetary for several years, after being evicted from the hostels after behaving violently and aggressively. He’d also been admitted to hospital several times as an inpatient, alongside several community inpatient placements.
Harry’s childhood was very difficult. He’d been emotionally, physically, and sexually abused while living with his family and also in children’s homes.
As well as being abused in childhood, Harry also reported being sexually assaulted as an adult during his time in hospital and living on the streets.
Harry was referred to Everyturn’s services in 2019 from an acute mental health hospital, where he had been detained (sometimes known as ‘sectioned’) under section 3 of the Mental Health Act.
When Harry was referred to us, we met his multidisciplinary team to discuss how we could support him.
They weren’t optimistic that he’d be able to stay with Everyturn; they thought he’d go back to living on the streets.
Our teams have worked with Harry ever since, gaining his trust and respect. Harry didn’t go back to living on the streets – he started in one of our specialist residential services, then moved into his own flat in 2024 through our community rehabilitation transition service.
Harry calls his flat his home, and he’s built trusting relationships with our colleagues, particularly male members of his team – he sees them as a friendly face and a safe place to open up.
Supported by our team, Harry has attended hospital for his physical health, which is a big step for him – he was previously too anxious to attend medical appointments. Our team have been able to reassure him throughout these visits and increased his confidence in getting the care he needs. Not only this, but Harry also has ongoing weekly appointments with a district nurse, which would have been a major struggle in the past.
Harry is still vulnerable to being exploited by other people in his life, including friends who pressure him into letting them stay at his home. We’ve helped Harry to become more confident to tell others to respect his boundaries and his home, because it could otherwise risk his tenancy.
It’s been a joy to see Harry really starting to care for himself, including weekly shopping, house cleaning, and meeting friends. We’ve also worked with him on his finances, and he’s now managing his budget well.
After over 15 years of struggle since his diagnosis, Harry is ready to move on and live independently.
We’re working with his social worker to make this possible, then our next steps will be to support Harry to apply for social housing.
Find out more about our community rehabilitation transition service and how to commission us.