Case Studies

Life before YMCA
In 2014, just shy of her 17th birthday, Cara-Leigh faced a difficult turning point. A breakdown in her family home, compounded by ongoing mental health struggles and her mum’s sudden move away, left her feeling lost and alone. With the support of a social worker, she was referred to YMCA Norfolk — a moment that marked the beginning of a transformative journey.

“I remember the taxi ride from my small village to the YMCA. I was so nervous, thinking ‘I can’t do this.’ But when I arrived, Lynton introduced himself as my support worker and everyone — staff and residents — were so welcoming. That first evening, a resident named Mollie took me to Tesco and helped me settle in. It was the start of something new.”

The impact YMCA has had
Having battled mental health challenges since the age of 12, Cara-Leigh found the support she needed at YMCA Norfolk. She engaged in therapy, worked with a mental health worker, and began to rebuild her confidence. During her time at the YMCA, she enrolled at City College and successfully completed courses in Health & Social Care and Childcare.

“There were tough days, but the staff never gave up on me — even when I gave up on myself. They helped me believe in myself and grow.”

Cara-Leigh later moved to YMCA MyPlace, where she was again welcomed with kindness and care by staff members Nico, Jade and Karen. Although she eventually returned to YMCA Central after realising she wasn’t quite ready for independent living, she was met with continued support and understanding.

“You never gave up on me. And in 2017, I moved into my own place. It was scary — I was actually sad to leave because I’d made close friends and felt like part of a big family.”

Fast forward to 2025, and Cara-Leigh’s story is one of resilience and hope. She began working in 2019 as a Mental Health Support Worker at Swanton Care, using her lived experience to help others. Despite facing further challenges in a difficult relationship, she completed two years of intensive therapy and now feels stronger than ever.

“I have a loving partner — we’ve been together almost four years — and next June we’ll be starting our IVF journey. The future looks so bright.”

Reflecting on her journey, Cara-Leigh shares:

“I owe the biggest thank you to YMCA Norfolk for never giving up on me and helping me grow. You taught me the skills I needed for life — otherwise, it could have been a very different story.”

Case Study by Cara-Leigh Evans

Life before YMCA
Before coming to YMCA Norfolk, Daniel experienced a breakdown in his relationship with his partner, which resulted in him becoming homeless. Returning to his parental home wasn’t an option due to overcrowding, so he spent several months sofa surfing. Eventually, a friend who was already living at YMCA Norfolk helped Daniel get in touch, and he was offered a room at Woolstencroft.

What support he received
Daniel has been consistently involved in Life Ready activities since the project began, making the most of every opportunity available. He has taken part in a wide range of sessions, including cooking, baking, crafts, and community events like board games, quiz nights, and bonfire night. He’s also participated in Personal Development sessions such as a discussion on positive relationships and the “Food Bank Challenge.”

Through connections made with the Life Ready team, Daniel engaged with external organisations that ran workshops at the hostel. He signed up for the Norfolk County Council “Boost” project and completed a cycle repair and maintenance workshop with Black Cat Cycles—leaving with a repaired bike and a lock. He also took part in a Slow Cooker workshop through the Matthew Project, which provided him with a slow cooker to use when he moves on YMCA Norfolk.

Daniel has shown strong commitment to personal development and is always an encouraging presence in group sessions. He’s been open about his mental health challenges and has taken steps to address them through 1:1 support with Life Ready. This included two visits to MAP in King’s Lynn, where he joined the waiting list for counselling, spoke with a Leeway advisor about domestic violence, and received advice on PIP and future custody arrangements for his son.

He also attended a visit to the King’s Lynn Construction Hub, which led him to enrol in an evening course in basic carpentry and joinery. After completing that course and making a stool, he signed up for a follow-up bricklaying course and plans to take plastering and dry-walling next. The team have also helped him apply for protective work boots through Norfolk Adult Learning.

Daniel’s enthusiasm in the cooking and baking sessions has paid off as well—he’s now receiving certificates for modules of the Foodwise ASDAN, with plans to work toward completing the full qualification.

The impact YMCA has had
Daniel has gained a renewed sense of stability and confidence since being at YMCA Norfolk. With the support of staff and the structure of the Life Ready project, he’s begun seriously thinking about his future, including returning to work. He hopes to move from the hostel into a Move On property or possibly begin bidding for a council home. Having a more stable living situation will allow him to save money and access more job opportunities.

He has past experience in retail and would be open to returning to it, but his interest in practical trades has grown, thanks to the Construction Hub courses. He’s also hoping to complete CSCS card training through Boost to help open up job opportunities in construction.

When asked about his experience, Daniel said, “I really do recommend Life Ready to people who are not experienced in life with cooking, life skills as it helps with those a lot. I really enjoyed the session with Black Cat Cycles, especially getting to keep the bike.”

Name has been changed to protect the resident’s identity.

Case Study by Georgie Tennant

After being at Woolstencroft for a number of months, the Life Ready project started and Josh found out about it through talking to Georgie and to the Housing Engagement workers.

Before Josh came to YMCA Norfolk, he had lived with a foster family for a few years. He left them when he was 18 and privately rented. He was unable to afford that long term so he moved to a different town and lived on a couple of traveller sites. After moving round Peterborough for a bit, sofa surfing for a while. He couldn’t settle in Peterborough as he had no connections so he went to the council who placed him at the YMCA in  he wanted more stability so

Journey with YMCA Norfolk:
To begin with, Josh didn’t join in with Life Ready a great deal. He had some issues at the hostel which almost resulted in him being evicted. After successfully appealing his eviction, Josh engaged more with Life Ready, helping him to gain skills and experiences that will help him when he moves out in the near future.

Josh has joined in with some of the social sessions at the hostel such as quizzes and has also joined in with a variety of drop-in sessions with external visitors such as the Matthew Project and the Wild Hub. He signed up with the Matthew Project, which enabled him to join in with a slow cooker session, that resulted in him being able to keep the slow cooker at the end of the session.

One of the Personal Development sessions he came on was a tour of Purfleet (local housing provider and well-being service). As a result, during a 1:1 coaching session, Georgie took him back to Purfleet to go through their sign-up process. Now he can access all of their free support and activities after he leaves the hostel, including help with furniture, access to counselling and future advice on many issues if he needs it, as well as free social groups if he wants to participate.

Josh has joined in other Personal Development sessions such as a “Food Bank Challenge,” to ensure he knows how to access a Food Bank if he needs one, as well as registering with Boost to enable him to participate in sessions that they have run at the hostel, such as a CV workshop and a session on bike repair and maintenance with Black Cat Cycles. Josh was a great participant in all of these, engaging fully and these things have improved how he has been spending his time at the hostel.

Josh has engaged with 1:1 coaching sessions, which have enabled him to take better care of his health and start to think about his future. This has included him being supported to make and attend an optician’s appointment, where he got new glasses so can see much better! This also included beginning to take on some qualifications that might help him to get a job he is interested in. He went with Georgie to look round the Construction Hub and she helped him to sign up for a Basic Carpentry and Joinery Course, which he attended once a week for 4 weeks, with another resident, resulting in him learning the skills to make a stool, and passing the course. Josh has now signed up for another free course with the same provider – basic bricklaying.

About the future:
Josh has done a great job of saving up to move out of the hostel and has proven himself mature and able to manage a tenancy when he leaves. He hopes to get a bidding number for a council flat and move out in the next couple of months.

Josh hopes to continue to take free courses in various trades and would like to complete CSCS card training so that he can gain a job working on a building site when he moves out.

“It has been helpful to be persuaded to join in with things I wouldn’t have done otherwise, that I know will help me later on in life when I leave the hostel.”

Name has been changed to protect the resident’s identity.

“I was kicked out of home when I was 18 due to a relationship breakdown with my mum’s boyfriend. My relationship with my mum became difficult and she asked me to leave.”

Before coming to the YMCA, Liam was sofa surfing with friends around Norwich and Norfolk but kept ending up rough sleeping in a tent in a local woodland. “To be honest the whole period is a blur, it all happened because it was such a difficult and chaotic time in my life. I was also misusing substances, but after a period of time I was referred to Supported Lodgings”. 

He then moved in with a Supported Lodgings family in Norwich. Liam got on well with his Support Worker and found that he was understanding about his situation and didn’t judge him. He soon realised that he struggled to cope living with back in a family environment, due to his past, and decided to leave Supported Lodgings.

After spending almost a year living without a place to call home in Norwich, Liam began to feel like he had no future, and so his health declined. Liam started drinking every day and misusing substances in hopes to blot out the pain he was in. He was homeless and sofa surfing for a while before winter approached. Some friends living at YMCA Central Hostel told Liam about YMCA Norfolk and the support they can offer and so he went along to the Council’s Homelessness Team to be assessed again. 

When Liam moved into YMCA Central for the first time, he felt relieved that he had somewhere warm and safe to live, appreciating the support that was given. He had friends living there at the time and found that he could slowly start helping himself develop healthier coping mechanisms with a strong support network around him. 

Liam then moved into MyPlace, another YMCA Accomodation, after growing in independence at YMCA Central. He said, “I immediately felt more relaxed due to having my own flat and more independence. I enjoyed my time there and I felt that I was also able to approach staff if I had any problems and they would listen and be there if I needed”.

Looking towards the future, Liam is very excited to reach the goal of having his own place and feels as though he’s equipped with all the skills needed to manage a tenancy. He wants to have a house in the Norfolk countryside and be a self-employed gardener and is currently doing a groundsman apprenticeship to help achieve this goal.

“I feel that YMCA Norfolk has had a direct impact on making me a stronger and wiser person. I feel like I have developed my confidence as a person and have enjoyed the independence given. I feel like I have proven myself with YMCA Norfolk staff and in turn they have given me encouragement and trusted me with independence”.

Name has been changed to protect the resident’s identity.