Celia became involved with the inclusion project in October last year. She was already being supported by The Haven and Forth Valley Recovery Group and was offered additional support through an Inclusion Worker. Celia is a recovering drug addict who has been in and out of prison, and was homeless until 3 years ago.
The Inclusion Worker helped Celia to understand and access the benefits she was entitled to. Having the extra income enabled her to start to enjoy life more. For example, it enabled her to make improvements and changes to her flat to make it feel more homely. Celia had previously never felt like her flat was her home as she associated it with prison – the only other time she’d consistently had a roof over her head.
The Inclusion Worker also helped Celia to develop an action plan of support and goals. One of her goals is to help support others like herself to become drug free. Working towards this, she put her name forward for a Forth Valley Recovery volunteer course. She wanted to take part in the course but doubted herself due to low confidence and anxiety. The Inclusion Worker and support team from The Haven and Forth Valley Recovery helped Celia to understand how her skills and real life experience would make her a great candidate. She put her name forward and has been accepted on to the course.
Celia’s anxiety and health are improving. She has commented several times that she doesn’t deserve the life she has now. Our Inclusion Worker reminds her of the challenges she’s faced in her life, and the journey she has made so far. With continued support from the team (Inclusion project, The Haven, Forth Valley Recovery) Celia will continue to achieve her goals. Celia has commented that the team have changed her life.