Justin’s Story

Justin* came to YMCA Dudley Housing in December following a family eviction where he and his siblings were all separated in different areas. He arrived with no food, a small amount of clothing and no bank account or ID. He was at risk of failing his college course due to reduced attendance linked to sofa surfing with friends and family. Upon arrival, YMCA provided Justin with a food parcel and personal care items for the weekend and issued a food bank voucher to collect the following Monday.

Our team attended a Universal Credit meeting with Justin, where we were able to support Justin and explain that his autism means he finds communication challenging and that he may struggle to comprehend what they are asking of him. Justin has autism which impacts his cognition and understanding of social situations, as a coping strategy he rocks forwards and backwards when he feels unsettled; this meeting caused him to feel overwhelmed and caused him to start rocking to self-soothe. YMCA staff helped Justin to open a bank account and have since been working together to help Justin understand how to budget, which he is making excellent progress with, being able to stick to a weekly allowance and saving! Now that he is more settled, Justin is back attending college daily and is on track to complete his course. He has applied to the Duke of Edinburgh Silver award starting later this year.

Justin’s mental health was very poor when he arrived; he was confused and upset having no idea where his family members were or what would happen next in his life, which impacted his personal hygiene and environment. YMCA staff supported Justin to create a daily routine for personal hygiene, caring for his environment and eating regularly, which has helped him become far more confident and his rocking is now a rare occurrence.

Justin is now in a much better place mentally. He attends every activity session and support meeting and will ask for advice from YMCA staff when needed. He loves working in the garden and shows a real interest in caring for the greenhouse plants, watering daily and updating staff on how the plants are growing. His new interest in plants has also helped him to engage more with other residents in the project who share the same interest. Justin has started cooking meals which he was unable to do when he arrived. He is keen to start planting vegetables which he will be able to cook later in the year, YMCA staff are planning to hold cooking sessions for the residents to help build his cookery skills and encourage healthy eating.

The progression our team has seen in Justin has been amazing; we’re so proud of how far his has come and have told him he should be very proud of his achievements too, he is a wonderful, kind young man who is always happy to help others.

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*Name and photo changed to protect young person’s identity.