Ben's story, from the Street Outreach team - 03/07/2023

A case study from the Street Outreach team from Framework:

 

"A lot of people think that if someone is rough sleeping, their first priority is to get housed somewhere.

Sometimes it is and as a team, we are there to offer support and guidance and help people into housing. Yet that is not always the case.

We have known Ben for around three years. He is often in and out of prison and unsettled accommodation. We always check on him, but he often doesn’t want much support other than this.

Over the past weekend we found him during one of our routine 6am outreach shifts. He was really unwell. We got him some water and food, but he couldn’t keep anything down. We went to the walk in centre with him, who advised he would need to go to A&E. We gave Ben a lift up there which he was grateful for.

Due to Ben's worsening physical state, we also got him a phone so that he was able to call us or 999 for urgent medical attention. We got back in touch with him the next day, he had been discharged from A&E but was still really unwell. We helped him get his medication for the day and took him back up to A&E at his request. We stayed with him for a few hours until he was settled and gave him a bus pass to get back to town if he needed to.

The following morning we found him rough sleeping again in town. He had been discharged from A&E but his physical state was worsening. We got him some water, got his medication for the day, and took him to Ben’s Centre to try and get some food. His condition was worsening so we took him back to A&E where he was seen and got the right care he needed.

Ben was really grateful for the help. He explained that he often doesn’t engage with our service, but he felt comforted that we check the city centre every morning to check the welfare of rough sleepers and that we are there to help with whatever they need when they need it.

Ben was most scared of dying alone, as we all are. Rough sleepers are often suffering from a multitude of issues and trauma and we try to treat them with respect and dignity, whether this is buying them a coffee, having a chat with them, helping to get them housed, helping them reconnect with family or getting them the medical care they need."

 

As told to Help us Help by Steph Haines, Team Leader, Street Outreach Team.