Liz’s story

Liz, a 49-year-old woman originally from Glasgow, has been known to Borderline for nearly five years. After her husband’s death she started to drink heavily, and subsequently lost the flat they shared due to rent arrears.

It appears that she did not try to access any help and she subsequently drifted onto the streets, sometimes with a bit of respite through sofa surfing. Liz refused all offers of help and was adamant she would not go into a hostel. She continued to sleep rough, occasionally disappearing for a while and reappearing, still refusing help.
The issue was that the usual pathway off the street is firstly into a hostel, as a bridge to working towards longer term accommodation, but she would not do this as she felt she would deteriorate further in that setting.

In partnership with Housing First, Borderline started working with Liz to find more permanent accommodation. The concept behind Housing First is that accommodation is offered without needing to jump through hoops, and wraparound support is immediately put in place when the client is accommodated.

Liz was finally offered a flat in Pimlico, where she is currently supported by our Scottish Outreach worker Patricia. Borderline have agreed with Housing First that psychotherapy is something which may help to reduce the likelihood of this happening in the future. In Partnership with Brett Grellier Psychotherapy Service, we have referred Liz to targeted counselling sessions to support her recovery.

Our outreach workers continue to engage with Liz on a regular basis, even offering some cooking lessons to help her look after herself better. We will keep checking in with her to support her in her increased independence.