Alcohol use, poor mental health and isolation have dogged Becky since escaping the trauma of partner abuse.
Becky was referred into the AYE service through the Diversion from Prosecution referral route. Becky is a mother of two young children under the age of five who have struggled with her own substance use due to trauma endured through intimate partner abuse. Becky had struggled with alcohol, using it to self-medicate and help her cope with her spiralling mental health. As she tried to address her alcohol use, she felt as though she needed to remove herself from her current friendship groups due to their disruptive influence on her. As a result, she began to feel increasingly socially isolated, which was having a further impact on her mental health.
A Sacro Support Worker referred Becky into the Beacons, a Lanarkshire-based recovery hub, ‘Woman’s Hub’ run by Saoirse. Saoirse is a support service for females impacted by gender-based violence and substance misuse. This gave Becky a space to address the trauma she has suffered whilst creating meaningful relationships that did not centre around substance use. Her Sacro Support Worker had also referred her into ‘Talk Now’ which is a trauma counselling service. Becky completed the initial consultation stage and is awaiting to be allocated a worker. In the meantime, she will receive support from Saoirse for trauma counselling to bridge the gap between waiting times.
Becky has come to find the Women’s Hub as a place of refuge for herself. She attends regularly and has often said she feels the hub will be of great support to her. Becky has maintained her abstinence from alcohol since the beginning of support and has been taking the initiative in addressing her own mental health. Through encouragement from her support worker, she has contacted her GP and has been prescribed anti-depressants.
Becky told her support worker that she no longer feels so isolated in her community as she knows she has the Women’s Hub and has started to build positive peer relationships.