St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity funds Rowan Alba‘s psychology project, in Edinburgh, a project that embeds a clinical psychologist in two supported accommodation homes to deliver targeted mental health support to 45 people with long-term experience of homelessness and trauma.
One of these supported accommodation homes is for women only, and it aims to support women both emotionally and practically to obtain tenancies, learn life skills, be independent, gain confidence and meet new people. Women’s only spaces are essential in these instances, ensuring the safety of women who have often experienced trauma.
One of these women is Zoe*. Zoe fled to Scotland after experiencing an incident of domestic violence so severe that she was hospitalised. Without a home, or any of her belongings, she approached the local Council for support. She didn’t know where else to turn.
“When I left, I didn’t have anything. I’d gone from living my life, down to zero.”
For Zoe, it was a priority for her that she could find a place to stay that would be able to support her with both her physical and mental health needs. After the trauma that she went through, she knew that this support would be essential to her recovery.
The council put her in touch with Rowan Alba, who found a space for her in their women’s accommodation.
Before she was settled, she had to move around to find appropriate accommodation. For Zoe, this time of precarity, after leaving a stable job, relationship, and mortgage, was completely destabilising. On top of the stress of this instability, Zoe felt scared that her ex-partner might find her, and she felt ashamed that she needed to rely on help.
“I kept crying and crying and crying”
When Zoe was given a room at Stramullion, some of the weight lifted from her shoulders. She was able to concentrate on healing. As she had to leave her home and her country with not much more than the clothes she was wearing, she had very little money when she arrived in Scotland. The team at Stramullion were able to help with providing food, and other necessities she couldn’t afford. They also helped her to access a GP to address her physical health conditions. And, they provided a safe, supportive place for Zoe to live.
One of the key services offered at Stramullion is access to an NHS psychology team, who come directly to the accommodation to meet the women where they are, and help to address their mental health needs. Zoe was suffering with anxiety, depression and PTSD after what she had been through. Sarah and Renee, psychologists at Rowan Alba, met regularly with Zoe to support her through this, and to help her to learn tools to manage her symptoms. Zoe attended a group on strategies to understand the symptoms of trauma and how to manage distress, which she found very useful.
“If not for the treatment from Sarah and Renee, I wouldn’t know where to start from. I needed someone to tell me, “Hey, this is the first step – you need to take this first step.”
All of this support has meant that Zoe is now looking forwards to the future. She hopes to start working again soon, and to move into her own place. She is looking forward to getting back the independence she once had.
“With this mental health support, I believe that I can take the steps I need to – and then all I need to remember are the strategies I learnt here. And then they are always with me – I can take them anywhere I want.”
*Zoe’s name has been changed to protect her identity, but her story is real
Image credit: Centre for Homelessness Impact / Amy Ryall
