When Paula* first met with her support worker, she was struggling.
She was worried about her home, dealing with rent arrears and bedroom tax, and finding it hard to cope with her mental health. Things had reached a point where she felt overwhelmed by everything that needed doing around the property.
When Paula opened up about her situation, she spoke honestly about how difficult things had become. She said she felt embarrassed by the way she was living and upset that her son had to live like that too.
Rather than trying to tackle everything at once, she was encouraged to focus on one room at a time and break larger jobs into smaller, more manageable tasks.
At the same time, conversations began about whether moving to a two-bedroom home could make things more affordable for her in the future.
Paula started making changes. Gradually, she began clearing her home and working through the tasks she had set herself. Support was put in place to help with her bedroom tax and rent arrears, which meant she was able to register on B-With-Us and begin bidding for properties.
Over the next year, she stayed committed. She attended every appointment and completed every task she was asked to do. She continued bidding on properties and kept paying towards her arrears.
Paula’s hard work eventually paid off.
After more than a year of working towards her goal, she was matched with a two-bedroom property and received the keys to her new home.
She says she loves her new home and is looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life.
Looking back on her experience, she said she would encourage anyone in a similar position to take the first step and tell Calico about what is happening.
“It is really scary as you want to keep it all to yourself and hide,” she said. “But I never felt judged and I am so grateful for all the help I have received.”
*Name changed to protect this customer’s identity.