A lovely person with a zest for life. Joe has overcome a traumatic experience, he’s rebuilt his life and is now on the road to recovery.

Joe was referred to The Ashley Foundation in January 2014 after he had been admitted to the mental health team at Chorley. He was admitted after he had attempted to take his own life following a break-up from his partner.  Although unbeknown to Joe at the time, he was lucky to be leaving the traumatic and abusive relationship.

Joe began to drink heavily during his relationship with his ex-partner to deal with the abusive situation that he found himself in. He had hidden it from his family and friends in particular his mum who lived in Scotland. He explained that his ex-partner slowly took away his confidence and self-esteem over a long-period of time and that during this time he had no idea that this was happening and it’s only now that he recognises the warning signs.

On being referred to The Ashley Foundation Joe was introduced to the team at Oak House, but his ordeal had left him feeling vulnerable and for the first time in his life he lacked confidence in his own ability and struggled to undertake daily tasks to get by. Joe had always been an independent person; he’d worked all his life never relying on others. Therefore, he found his new situation difficult to adjust to and he struggled to come to terms with it at first. With the help of the team at The Ashley Foundation, in particular Craig, Oak House’s manager and Denise, his support worker, who supported him as he started to re-build his life.

Denise worked with him to find out how she could help him, supporting him in taking his next steps on the road to recovery. By doing so she assisted Joe to access healthcare and benefits.

Over time Joe’s confidence began to grow and with that he found himself willing to help out around the hostel to keep himself busy. Joe took part in social activities, he enjoyed cooking in the kitchen for other residents and contributed to the cleaning rota and was also given responsibility to go to the shop and buy produce for the kitchen. To those of us that haven’t been through what Joe has this might have been seen as an ordinary day to day task but for Joe it meant the world and did wonders for re-building his confidence. Joe and the staff at The Ashley Foundation quickly realised that he was a unique resident as it was rare for a resident to be as involved in daily life at the hostel as Joe was.

In May 2014 Joe moved in to one of The Ashley Foundations supported flats where he stayed for 5 years under the support of Jamie the flat manager and alongside his support worker Alan. Joe commented:

“At first it was quite odd and strange as I was so used to the routine at the hostel but gradually I adapted and got back into the swing of things”.

Joe had suffered a degree of mental trauma from his previous relationship but he gradually took to his new way of living and gained confidence in his own ability. Joe is an incredibly outgoing and energetic character and the team at The Ashley Foundation built a strong bond with him, his flat was always welcoming and homely, so much so that the team used to love stopping by for a brew and a chat.

During his time at The Ashley Foundation Joe received CBT therapy and these sessions helped him to come to terms with his traumatic ordeal and understand what he had been though. They also gave him the confidence to go and enjoy life once more.

Joe was thrilled and elated to be reunited with his family in Scotland especially his mum who he now shares a strong relationship with.  He’s back working in the Hospitality industry and love has blossomed and Joe is in the process of moving out of the supported flats and in with his new partner.

Joe describes his time at The Ashely Foundation by commenting:

“The Ashley Foundation has saved my life and without them I fear that I would not be alive today. Their continued support and counselling has enabled me to rebuild my life and now I can look to the future and be excited about what’s to come.”

Denise Boehme, Support Services Manager at The Ashley Foundation said,

“Joe is just a lovely soul and with such a zest for life. He’s strong, determined and knows that he’ll never return to his former self and with his new found confidence he’s been able to rebuild his life. We’re delighted to see Joe move on and the team at The Ashley Foundation are incredibly proud of what he has achieved.”

For further information about The Ashley Foundation visit https://theashleyfoundation.org.uk/