David first heard about Future Pathways from a friend. To begin with, David was not sure he wanted to access support because he did not want to bring anything up from his past, and he had been dealing with the impact of his past experiences without support for a long time. David sometimes felt that he did not deserve the support as much as other people. But Steven, his Support Coordinator, reassured him that Future Pathways was for him too.
When David started working with Future Pathways, Steven helped him access counselling. Even though David had friends he could speak to, he had never spoken about some of the abuse he had been through.
“Talking to the counsellor opened everything up. We spoke for ages. I talked about the abuse and how I was feeling for the first time.”
This helped David to talk about the abuse he went through to other people as well. This meant he could give his statement to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. And having a counsellor to talk to helped David through the process of applying to the Redress Scheme.
“Counselling didn’t make a deeper difference to how I feel inside, but now I can talk about it. I could give my statement to the Inquiry and talk about the abuse.”
David feels he has learned more about himself and how his past impacts him with Future Pathways’ support.
“The biggest difference is that I know more about myself now. I know more about how things affect me. The counsellor explained that I go into fight or flight mode, and this might be why I find some situations, like being in groups of people difficult. So, I have found different ways of coping, like going out on my bike with the dog.”
David loves to get out into the countryside with his dog, so Future Pathways supported David to purchase a mountain bike. This meant he could get out into the hills with his dog for hours at time. Future Pathways helped David continue to get out on the bike after he went through a difficult time. David became unwell and this affected his lungs. Then his bicycle was stolen in a burglary. Future Pathways supported David to buy an e-bike so that he could continue getting out with his dog.
“It has made the world of difference.”
Vicky first heard about Future Pathways from Wellbeing Scotland, where she has accessed support since 2016. Vicky has been working with a Support Coordinator called Elaine since the beginning of her journey with Future Pathways.
It took time to build up trust with Future Pathways because Vicky had many experiences of being let down by services in the past.
“It took about six months for me to start trusting that Future Pathways would do what they said they would do. I was used to feeling dismissed by services, but I started to see that things were actually happening. A social work assessment was put in place. I could see that it wasn’t just words.”
Since accessing support at Future Pathways, Vicky has faced many challenges in her life. She has had issues with damp in her home, and she has been seeking justice through the court system. This has been a long, difficult process. She has also faced many physical and mental health challenges.
These experiences took a toll on Vicky, and she felt she wasn’t accessing the support she needed from other services. Through it all, Vicky feels that Future Pathways and Wellbeing Scotland together have encouraged her to keep going.
“I really mean it. I wouldn’t be alive today without Future Pathways and Wellbeing Scotland. They [Future Pathways and Wellbeing Scotland] believed in me and that helped me believe in myself.”
With Elaine’s help, social work support was put in place for Vicky. This led to a positive change in Vicky’s housing situation. Future Pathways helped with purchasing furniture and other items so Vicky could settle into her new accommodation.
“Getting social work in place was so valuable to me. Before, I was trapped in a damp house, and I was made homeless. I had to live in my car during the Covid-19 pandemic to protect myself from further damage to my health that the mould was inflicting on me. And when I moved, I had nothing until Future Pathways helped.”
Even though Elaine was off when Vicky moved, Future Pathways acted quickly and made sure Vicky’s needs were met.
“My needs were treated like they were important.”
Previously, Vicky had tried to access social work support, but it had not worked out. Vicky believes that having Elaine there to advocate for her helped Vicky access the right support for her.
“I believe she advocated for me and that is what made the difference, having an organisation behind me. Before, I felt like services didn’t listen to me, but when Future Pathways got involved, there was a multi-agency meeting about my support.”
Vicky feels that accessing the right support for her has helped her improve both her physical and mental health, now having a care package in place.
“Previously I felt like I couldn’t get anywhere when I was struggling with my mental health. I couldn’t get the support I needed from crisis services. I was triggered by a lot of things, and I felt I deserved the hard things that were happening. But now, I am definitely in a better place.”
Vicky also accessed one-to-one drama tuition to help build confidence and self-esteem. This has helped Vicky to recognise her strengths, grow in confidence, and tap into the support around her when she needs.
“Now I challenge things myself more. For example, if I have housing issues, I stand up for myself, knowing I have back up from Future Pathways and Wellbeing Scotland. I used to let things get to breaking point. Now I ask for support when I need it because I have built up a lot of trust and support around me.”
The support has made a big difference to Vicky’s mental health and hope for the future.
“I have gone from feeling worthless all my life and feeling suicidal every other week to now having the proper support of Future Pathways and Wellbeing Scotland. I now have more positivity.”
Vicky feels strongly that anyone who experienced in-care abuse in Scotland should be able to access the support that she has had. To share more about how support has made a difference to her, Vicky helped create a video called “Finding Vicky” all about her experiences.