Spectrum CIC WY-FI+ Case Study

Ann, 45 years old

In 2020 Ann was re-referred to WY-FI+ for support with Homelessness, Addiction, Re-offending, and Mental Ill Health. On the WY-FI+ traffic light she presented red, chaotic, and not engaging with support.

Background - Ann developed bacterial meningitis as a teenager. This caused a brain injury and she had to rehabilitate, relearning how to walk and talk. Ann began working with a brain injury charity at the start of her journey with WY-FI+.

Homelessness: Ann was housed in unsecure short-term emergency accommodation following release from prison for an offence of arson which stemmed from unstable mental health and frustration of having no contact with her daughter and directly impacted on her prospects of being accommodated by any provider. She was referred to a housing provider with tenancy support whilst in temporary accommodation and engaged well. She then moved into their supported self-contained accommodation.

Now: Ann continued to work with housing, prioritised bills and engaged with services. In October 2022 she secured a council bungalow to suit her health needs. She was referred for ongoing housing support. Her Navigator liaised with her Housing worker throughout offing joint home visits and support to attend face to face housing support sessions.

Ann was paying her council tax and debts via Direct Debit however her bank account has been recently closed. She continues to engage with housing support to prioritise her bills, has agreed to Care Link and is prioritising her funds to pay for gas and electric. She is extremely settled in her bungalow and has made positive relationships with her neighbours.

Addiction: Ann was already registered with local Recovery Services and on an opiate substitute script

but was only engaging sporadically with her worker and was still using on top.

Now: Ann’s Navigator supports her to attend appointments, she engages well and has almost stopped using drugs reporting many more drug free days and only using on pay days. She has weekly face to face support sessions with her key worker, has achieved most goals and her urine tests have been negative for opiates. She is working towards reducing her opiate substitute dose. When she previously relapsed, she left herself without funds, now she prioritises bills first stating she has learnt from her actions, feeling very disappointed in herself for her previous behaviour.

Re-offending: On release from prison, Ann only engaged sporadically with her probation worker.

Now: The partnership work with WY-FI+, Probation Service and the brain injury charity allowed Ann to complete her probation whilst feeling fully understood and supported by all parties involved. Ann is no longer under the probation service.

Mental Health: Ann was not in any Mental Health services. Her brain injury makes her very vulnerable, she has experienced all forms of abuse in the past. Due to her drug use the only mental health service she had been able to access was dual diagnosis.

Now: Ann engages with the brain injury charity and attends weekly groups where Ann speaks with other individuals with similar brain injuries and enjoys craft sessions. Ann has expressed feeling bored and anxious not using drugs but is in a positive frame of mind. She has rehomed a dog that she refers to as her therapy dog.

This has given Ann a new sense of responsibility and she has chosen to stay home with her pet instead of going out and using substances.

Ann found positive connections at her local church and was baptised. She attends bible studies and Sunday service weekly giving her more stability in a routine.

Ann enjoyed participating in a lived experience workshop arranged by a local research project regarding homelessness and health inequalities in Wakefield. She shared her experiences and suggestions for improvement and these were taken forward, she also attended a follow up meeting to share the findings.

Challenges:

Ann needs intensive support with regular contact which she received from her brain injury Nurse, but this has reduced to just the weekly group sessions. She engaged well with her supported Housing worker who assisted her with billing queries, however, this support has ended since she moved as she is no longer with the supported housing provider. Ann now has a different housing support worker from another provider as she still struggles to manage her letters and bills and has called her Navigator in crisis at times when unsure about which payments to prioritise.

Ann was having her opiate substitute delivered whilst in her previous accommodation, due to her vulnerabilities it was safer for her not to attend the chemist. Since moving to her bungalow, the local chemist does not have capacity to delivery her prescription and her previous chemist are unable to deliver to her new address. Ann agreed to safeguard herself by collecting her prescription from another chemist away from Wakefield centre where she is targeted by other drug users. She now has a bus pass and can manage this independently.

Ann recently fell out of prescribing for opiate substitute, after being targeted by other drug users she was unable to attend her chemist. Her Navigator advocated to get her back into prescribing quickly, she has restarted her prescription and agreed to a reduction.

Ann was targeted whilst in Wakefield and her bank account was used for money laundering, this was raised as fraud and her account closed. This has been a

big challenge for Ann as she is now unable to open a high street bank. Her benefits are paid into a PES account as a short-term measure and she has been assessed by adult safeguarding team to identify ways to stay safe and override these fraud markers, which is ongoing.

Community Safety Outcomes:

Ann is a very vulnerable person who is no longer at risk of losing her accommodation and does not associate with those who would take advantage of her anymore.

Ann is now engaging well with all services, paying her debts and is almost drug free. Her Navigator has also supported her with managing her debts and budgeting.

Ann has engaged with GP appointments, Housing Needs, Probation and local recovery services, and supported to engage in activities to fill her time positively e.g., attending group sessions through the brain injury charity.

Since Ann completed her probation order she has committed no further crime.

Her Navigator has supported Ann to register with a Dentist, attend appointments and complete the process to get dentures.

Ann attends at a weekly food pantry and has formed positive relationships with the staff and volunteers. Through attending church Ann feels she is spending her time with more meaningful activities and caring for her dog has given her a sense of responsibility.

Ann’s contribution to the local research project was very well received and has increased her confidence. She stated she may attend similar activities in future.

Insights:

When WY-FI+ began working with Ann her chaos index score was 39, it is has reduced to 32.

When WY-FI+ began working with Ann her outcomes star was 29, it has since increased to 45.

On the WY-FI+ traffic light system Ann now presents as amber, she is much less chaotic, engages well with services and has secure accommodation, however she has relapsed with drug use a few times and is still in need of regular contact to encourage and support her in her aim to be drug free and to manage and prioritise her funds. Regular contact is also required to support her to continue to engage and liaise with all services involved.

Tips:

Having a dedicated team, that comes from a trauma informed approach, with a low caseload allows Navigators to work intensively with a client. This approach has proven to have successful outcomes.

What next:

Ann’s navigator will support her to open a bank account and continue to encourage her to integrate in the local community.

Ann said:

”I feel like other support workers don’t understand what I am trying to say but my Navigator doesn’t rush me. She helps me by speaking for me when needed and I am so grateful to WY-FI for helping me find my dog and trusting me to take care of her on my own. She is my therapy dog and has saved my life.”