My name is Paula and I’m 50 years old and I’m proud to share my story with you today.
Before I met Sam, my MASH Housing First worker, I used to sit in my room all the time. I didn’t communicate with people. I was living in temporary accommodation and using heroin and crack cocaine. I’d been living on the streets and I now know that I had mental health issues including bipolar disorder and PTSD.
When I met Sam, she really brought me out of myself.
She took me out for lunch and to different places so I wasn’t sat in my room mulling stuff over. I got to know her for a couple of months.
This led to one of my sons coming to visit me. When my son saw me with my weight back on looking like his Mum again, he was overwhelmed. He looked so happy when he seen me and proud of how well I looked.
A few weeks later he was killed on 26th May 2021.
So much has happened since then and you can read it all here.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
