Meet Susan

Susan has flourished in supported living, developing life skills and growing in confidence. She has been on an incredible journey, from spending 24 years under NHS mental health services to currently being settled in supported living; enjoying her independence, and spending quality time with family.

Susan suffered with anxiety from a young age, and by her early 20s she had sadly lost her husband, brother, and her baby. This led to a decline in her mental health, and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent over 10 years in a different places for mental health support.

Susan praises her support network during her journey from a hospital setting and nursing home to supported living. She has been receiving person-centred support from her social worker, Sheila, over the years, which has been crucial to her developing independence and managing her mental health. She said: “Sheila was my rock.” Susan doesn’t know where she would be without her best friend, Pauline, and is extremely thankful to her for looking after her son in his teenage years.

Moving into supported living

The support staff at Lifeways have helped Susan to build up her independence through teaching life skills such as cooking and cleaning. Susan said: “We get support every day. You can talk about different things. You know that whatever you discuss, they do not discuss it with anybody else. I just love all these support workers here.” She has made many friends at her supported living home, and she is very grateful for her friendships.

Susan is proud of her home and feels settled and safe. She said: “I am safe in here because my door is locked.” She proudly shared that she saved up for her own furniture. “For the bedroom, I saved up for my furniture. It is all white now. So, when I wake up, I can see happiness,” says Susan.

RWP housing officer Paula is proud of Susan’s strength and courage, and how she has developed her independence in supported living. “It was very emotional to hear about what has happened in her life and how she has come out of it so incredibly well. I think she is just an amazing woman!” says Paula.

Writing her book

It was about three years ago that Susan contacted social worker Sheila about writing a book about her experiences. She said: “I think I want to write a book”. Susan believes that her story will help others going through mental health challenges as they will see where she is now, and it will give others hope. “Happy things can happen even when you don’t expect it. Mine was when my granddaughter was born. I wanted to get better, so I had a relationship with her and my son. You must learn to live with this illness and manage it and this can be done with good support,” says Susan. 

Moving into her current supported living home and being supported there was the tailored help that Susan needed. There were three main things that helped Susan to get better which all happened at the same time. She said: “My granddaughter being born, new medication and a good social worker.”

Susan’s book is called My Lost Years eBook: Kelly, Susan, Jump, Sheila and is available online. My Lost Years is also available in paperback.