Mary, an asylum seeker, was referred to Welcare as she was isolated with a young child and had limited funds. Welcare helped practically, linking her into the services she needed, but also gave her the support and confidence she needed to become part of the local community.
When I was first moved into the area I was sad and lonely. My son and I were spending all our time in our room, we didn’t have any friends and I didn’t like going out because I wasn’t confident speaking English. I was worried about a lot of things, we didn’t have very much money or enough food and I had some health problems.
At first it was very hard to communicate with the Family Support Worker, as there wasn’t a translator. We used google translate which helped but it meant that everything took a long time and sometimes it wasn’t quite right.
I was most worried about my son’s weight but my family support worker was worried that he wasn’t speaking enough and that he needed to play with other children to help his development. She took me to a health clinic to reassure me about his weight and took us to a play group so that he could play with other children. It was for migrant women and I met other people with similar experiences and was able to make friends. After this I felt confident enough to attend one of the playgroups at the Welcare centre.
Our Family Support Worker also referred me to a foodbank and managed to contact another charity to get us some clothes and toys for my son. She got me an appointment at the GP and came with me to the hospital when I had an appointment, which really helped as I was very anxious. I needed medication and she told me that I was entitled to free prescriptions. She filled in the paperwork and showed me how to go to the pharmacy. She also helped me with my son’s health and helped me arrange his vaccinations.
There was so much to do with my Home Office application. I found it very confusing and overwhelming but my Family Support Worker knew how to help. She spoke to the solicitor and made the appointments and travel arrangements for me. She even came to the train station on the day of the appointment as I was very anxious.
I feel much better in both myself and my son because I have received the support of Welcare in situations in which I needed support, and Welcare knew how to give me their support all the time. My English is getting better and my son is also talking more. I feel more stable and I have a support network in the local community. My heath is now good and I confident that I could ask for help from my GP if I needed it in the future.
When I started to receive Welcare’s support, my life improved because Welcare helped me find solutions to situations where I didn’t know what to do.
Welcare’s family support programme showed Mary all the support that was available and how to access it. Mary now has the knowledge and confidence to access different resources as the family’s needs change.
