Hannah - an inspirational journey from The Bridge

Hannah is a resident of The Bridge, one of our purpose built housing schemes for young people aged 16-25 who are experiencing homelessness, and has been with us for nearly two years.

Originally from the South of England, Hannah moved to Chorley aged 16 with her dad and siblings but soon found her relationship with her dad becoming strained. When a family breakdown occurred, Hannah moved from the family home to stay with friends until a supported housing placement was found.

Initially, Hannah seemed to manage exceptionally well living independently despite her young age. She was studying Level 3 BTEC qualifications at college and working part-time.

Months passed until one day during a regular support meeting with Support Worker, Sue, it became evident that Hannah was feeling overwhelmed and struggling to juggle college, work and commitments at her church, and this was severely impacting on her health. Having few close friends and living in a new area, she was feeling incredibly lonely.

As a fiercely independent person, it was a massive step for Hannah to open up, reach out for help and trust staff at The Bridge to help her when she had reached crisis point.

Initially, Hannah needed emotional support; to be able to speak about how she was feeling and to know she was being listened to. After identifying the individual areas Hannah was struggling with, which included family, college, finances, health, and emotional and physical wellbeing; together Hannah and Sue made a list of priorities which Hannah could start tackling with support from Sue.

Against what seemed like all the odds, and because of her determination to succeed, Hannah passed her BTEC Sport Level 3, and her Level 3 Applied Sciences with a Double-A* and a Merit, which she says is her proudest achievement. Hannah now has a good network of friends and has bags of confidence and self esteem. She says she does not recognise the person she was eight months ago. She is now an independent young woman with big plans for her future and is truly an inspiration to others.

Sue says, “After seeing Hannah so low, it’s been truly inspiring to witness her determination to flip it around. Asking for help and getting the support and boost she needed from her college tutor gave Hannah the motivation to get through this difficult time in her life and to achieve such amazing results at college. We are so proud of her."