Oli’s mum had been unable to care for him due to poor mental health and consequently, he had been in the care system since the age of 11. Oli’s own mental health had deteriorated during this time, leading to poor relationships and aggressive behaviour. He was skipping college and was facing homelessness.

When Oli arrived at YMCA he was very quiet. He’d never lived by himself before and required a lot of support to develop basic independent living skills such as cooking, cleaning, budgeting, and getting along with others. YMCA supported Oli; helping him register with a GP and making sure he received mental health support from an in-house Counsellor. We worked with his college tutors to get him to re-engage with his course and our volunteers offered support to help him catch up on his missed work.

Oli has gradually adapted to independent living, learning new life skills with the help of our housing support team. He has also worked hard at securing an education for himself by studying on an evening and attending extra classes.

*At Oli’s request, we have used an actor in the photograph and video.