Case Studies

Disclaimer: story mentions self-harm. Emma’s name has been changed to protect her identity.

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“I came to YMCA Norfolk because things at home were getting very bad and my mental health was suffering. I was living with my dad and step-mother, and due to friction and arguments in the household, it was getting to the point where I was self-harming every day.

I found out about YMCA Norfolk because my brother is living there, and I thought it would be a safe and secure place to get the support and help I needed. I moved into Central (John Drake House) 13 months ago and received lots of support through regular 1-2-1 meetings with my support worker.

In fact, my support worker not only helped me through some really bad times, but also helped me to receive the support I needed to stop self-harming.  

I began to gain self-confidence and self-worth and was able to successfully manage my accommodation and rent at Central; meaning I could move over to My Place (YMCA Norfolk’s 40-place hostel in central Norwich, where residents are provided with their own flat to encourage independence).

I feel really proud of myself for managing my move to My Place and I feel I have achieved so much since being here. My mental health is improving; I have learnt more coping mechanisms and I am learning to have more self-respect. I feel stronger and I am growing daily. Through my support meetings I have been able to express my feelings and a gain a better understanding of myself.

My hopes for the future are to continue working on my mental health – which is improving on a daily basis – as well as to live in my own flat. I’m also currently talking to my support worker about a career in childcare and/or working with children, as this is something I’ve always wanted to do, and thanks to the team at YMCA Norfolk I have gained confidence, feel more focused and most importantly, feel listened to.”

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Alexandra Waters, YMCA Norfolk client, moved into YMCA accommodation earlier this year after fleeing a verbally abusive relationship with an ex.

After engaging in a huge range of positive activities within YMCA over the last 7 months, she wants to share her story and inspire others to take advantage of all the amazing opportunities offered to clients at YMCA Norfolk:

“I moved into the YMCA on 5^th March of this year, after fleeing a verbally abusive relationship. I was living in a shared house with him, I wasn’t eating properly and was feeling ill pretty much all the time.

It was a horrible environment to be in, especially seeing as we were having at least 2-4 arguments a day and during these arguments I would get verbally abused as well. I couldn’t handle the situation I was in and wanted to flee which led to a mutual friend bringing me into the YMCA so that they could house me.

I have been involved with YMCA Norfolk for over 7 months now. They have helped me so much by giving me a safe place to live, food, clean towels to use and keep. They have also given me so much support and help with my understanding of my PTSD and how I can manage it in a much better way than I ever thought possible.

So far, I am more confident within myself through engaging in positive activities and socialising in and out of the YMCA. I have passed a Joy of Food course, as well as taking part in Ascend Adventure open days and taster days for their Life Craft course that they are running.

My hopes for the future are to be able to maintain my current accommodation, with the aim to then move to a private rented property or council property to further my independence. One of my other hopes is to continue being a part of the Ascend Adventure community and to bring more positivity to my life.

It has started to make a massive difference to my life; I’ve been able to get my life back on the right track again, with the help and support of the staff here. I’ve been able to make decisions for myself when it comes down to doctor’s appointments and whether I should go or not.

I regularly go to the doctors at least once or twice a month now, whereas before I wasn’t massively concerned about my physical and mental health. YMCA has opened my eyes to a new better way of life and how I can look after myself in so many different positive ways.

My favourite experience so far is the days out that we do such as local museums, my favourite is Time and Tide museum. I am currently attending a Gardening Course, learning so much more than just how to garden. We are working much more efficiently ways by reusing, recycling and repurposing.

I have so much fun just by being a part of a community within YMCA with a wonderful group of people who I can call my friends. I know that whenever I need them…they are there for me.”

Bobby, former YMCA Norfolk client, has recently started working as a Chef at our Stepping Stones Café by Norwich bus station. We spoke to him about his amazing transformation from service user to staff member, and how he wants to be an inspiration to the YMCA young people he now works with:

“When I was 18-years-old I was kicked out of home because I had fallen into the wrong crowd, and became involved with drugs and drinking. I moved to the YMCA hostel on St Giles in 2005 – which was an 80 bed hostel at the time.

Two months into my stay at YMCA I was sent to prison for getting into a fight – but YMCA said they would save a room for me upon my release. When returning to YMCA Norfolk, Martin Rye (currently a YMCA housing manager), was made my support worker.

Unfortunately, I was still the same naive 18-year-old who thought I knew a lot more about life than I did. Due to repeatedly being caught with alcohol at the hostel, I was evicted eight months after my return to St. Giles.

I was on a downwards spiral and in 2007 I was sent back to prison for 90 days for a theft-related crime. Upon release, I met the mother of my child –  and in May 2008 we had a little girl together.

Three years later, the relationship broke down. We were both still very young, and it became extremely volatile. It was a mutual decision that I left the family home, but I still had access to our child.

Following this, in May 2011, I ended up coming back to YMCA at St. Giles. However, this time around, I had a totally different attitude after having my daughter – she was now the most important thing in my life. I kept myself to myself and made sure I didn’t fall into the wrong crowd.

I did everything my support worker asked of me at the time. I engaged in everything I possibly could, including education and training; undergoing a stewarding/security course for two months.

If I could give one piece of advice to our current YMCA clients, It would be the importance of engagement. If you want to get the most out of the service, you need to be proactive and engage in what your support worker offers you.

The YMCA offers you a lot of opportunities, you need to take advantage of as many of them as you can. Grab education with both hands – because after 19 it isn’t free anymore! Maths, English, Sports, any subject – just grab anything you can, because it’s so important later in life.

I moved out of YMCA in December 2011, only 7 months after re-entering the service, because I was ready to move on to independent living. I was provided with a council flat, which was the first real sense of independence I had – I began cooking for myself and really taking care of myself. Suddenly, I had grown up. I saw my little girl once a week, and me and my former partner were on better terms.

I had a few qualifications, but not as many as I would’ve liked. So, I enrolled into a Catering course at City College in September 2012. It was a year-long course, and I felt like I had found my niche. Half way through my course I got a job at Loch Fyne restaurant on St. Giles as a chef. It was such a great job – everyone was really nice and friendly.

I’ve been a chef ever since. After six years of working evenings and weekends, sometimes 60 hour weeks, I was looking for something with more sociable hours. I saw the role come up at Stepping Stones, applied for the position and was shortlisted for an interview. I came in and had a chat with Julie (YMCA Norfolk Catering Manager) – which was surreal as she cooked my meals 15 years ago as a resident.

I was offered the position and I now work as a full-time Chef at Stepping Stones Café. Working sociable hours is a real luxury, I have my evenings and weekends back and get to see my daughter more often than ever. We can finally spend quality time together, rather than in-between shifts.  

I was inspired to work for the YMCA after knowing what it’s like to be a service user. I know how difficult it can be, and working at Stepping Stones is the perfect balance of working in my industry at a chef, but also having interaction with our young people.

I’ve now been looking into part time Support Worker courses, because I’d love to be able to eventually give that support back to our clients. I want to inspire our young people not to make the same mistakes I made. It’s easy to fall on hard times, but everyone has the potential to turn their life around, especially with the help of YMCA Norfolk and their incredible staff.”

At YMCA Norfolk’s Annual Celebration 2019 on November 7, Yvonne, YMCA Norfolk Volunteer, and Martine, YMCA Norfolk client, faced the stage together to tell supporters their inspirational story:

“After witnessing the murder of a family member and other horrendous atrocities, I fled The Congo and moved to the UK. I was depressed, lonely and I found life very difficult especially with the language barrier.  I moved to YMCA Norfolk with my young daughter and with the support of their ‘Umbrella Team’ I was introduced to ‘Yvonne’ my Volunteer Support Worker,” said Martine.

Umbrella Housing is part of Community Housing Norwich, YMCA Norfolk’s accommodation service working with single-parent families. Yvonne has volunteered with YMCA Norfolk for almost three years – working closely with a number of Umbrella clients.

“When I discovered I was pregnant again, I was devastated and worried about how I would cope with another child.  I had nothing for a new baby, and I was unlikely to have support from their father. My pregnancy was complicated and high risk with Gestational Diabetes and High blood pressure.  I was becoming more isolated and depressed with little interest in going out or eating properly,” Martine added.

Over the following months, which Martine described as extremely difficult, Yvonne visited Martine weekly – and her encouragement and support became a lifeline for Martine.

“We began collecting baby items through Baby Bank and from friends.  I started to feel more confident and I actually found myself looking forwards to the future.  I started to develop trust, I was getting more confident and my English was improving. 

“I asked Yvonne to be my birth partner when I gave birth to my healthy daughter in April. I moved from complete hopelessness to the chance of building a good life for the girls and me.  I feel I am coping well, building friendships and being a good mother to my children.  I am working towards having my own house so my girls can have a permanent home. 

“My faith in God has helped me and my prayers have been answered. I have two children still in The Congo and with support, I am beginning the difficult journey to try and get them to live with me here,” added Martine.

Following Martine’s exceptional transformation, Yvonne was named as ‘Volunteer of the Year’ at YMCA Norfolk’s Annual Awards last week; praised for her ongoing commitment to transforming the lives of others and setting an incredibly high standard for staff and volunteers to follow. Her colleagues commented on her ability to ‘prove time and time again that she is a dedicated, compassionate team member who embodies the values of the YMCA.’