Josie heard about Future Pathways through the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. When Josie registered with Future Pathways, she and her Support Coordinator took the time to get to know each other and build a relationship.
“I didn’t have to hide or hold anything back. They were so understanding. They understood exactly what I had been through. It was as if I had known them for years.”
Together, Josie and her Support Coordinator explored different types of support.
“They would keep in touch. They would offer support. Anything of interest to me, they helped in any way they could.”
Josie had been through many life challenges, and she knew that getting the right help was important for her. Future Pathways supported Josie to access counselling support.
“I looked forward to going to the counsellor every week. They helped me see that, to me, I was not worthless. I talked truthfully about everything for the first time.”
Being completely honest with the counsellor was transformational. Before accessing counselling, Josie had always bottled up her feelings. Counselling helped Josie consider how she thought about herself and to address how her feelings of shame had prevented her from accessing support or opening up to people. Counselling helped Josie see how important it was for her to be truthful with the people in her life.
“Before, I had to hold it in. I never spoke about my past to my kids. I was embarrassed. The stigma of being in care meant people thought you were trouble.”
Future Pathways also supported Josie to complete and publish her book, ‘Finally back to my routes’.
Josie had been writing for years. Through some of the most challenging experiences of her life, writing helped Josie to express herself. Josie never thought anything would come from her writing, but this changed when her daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before passing away, Josie’s daughter encouraged her to finish her book. Josie was determined to finish her book for her children.
Accessing her care records helped Josie stitch together the story of her past. Josie also learned that she had a sibling she had never met before, and she was able to meet her.
“All of the story was in my records. Everything came flooding out.”
Josie would write for hours. Future Pathways supported Josie to finish and publish her book with Book Whisperers, a service that provides writing support.
“I surprised myself. It was a brilliant experience. I could get rid of all my anxiety and stress. I would just focus on writing.”
Josie is now a published author. She celebrated by organising a book signing event with family and friends. Writing ‘Finally back to my routes,’ enabled Josie to be completely truthful about her past with her loved ones. Her friends and family now know her as someone who is always laughing and joking.
