Client Case Study

Dumitru

Stories of how Hope4 has changed lives and impacted clients circumstances for the better

Dumitru’s story

Dumitru (not his real name) first came to the Hope Centre in late 2020 as he was homeless after ending a job in the local carwash. He could speak hardly any English but shared information with staff which indicated that he had possibly been trafficked and had been subject to Modern Day Slavery. This was reported to the authorities and Dumitru was picked up by the National Referral Mechanism and was moved away from Rugby for his own safety.

Dumitru returned to the area in late summer of 2021 and re-presented at the Hope Centre in November 2021. He was still homeless and was sleeping in a derelict building near to the town centre.

Dumitru shared with his Key Worker that he was orphaned at a young age, lived in an orphanage in his home country until he came of age and was then just ‘kicked out’. This led him into homelessness in his own country with little resilience to survive before being picked up/trafficked to the UK.

It is still unclear when he first came to the UK but he was made to work in carwashes, endured very poor living conditions and had little income.

Dumitru asked his Key Worker to support him to find accommodation and suitable employment so we could flourish and remain in the UK.

Casework Carried Out

  • Access to showers and laundry

  • Provision of sleeping bags and clothing,

  • Food provision including a number of foodbank vouchers

  • Advocacy support to access the Job Centre and DWP/benefits – predominately using Google Translate app due to Dumitru’s very poor English

  • Provision of a mobile phone and data/call sim card

  • In December 2021 we launched our Winter Project and Dumitru was housed in a house of multiple occupancy. This project included daily check-ins by visits to the Centre and welfare checks every weekend

  • Employment searches

  • Access to ESOL lessons to develop English language skills

  • Provided him with basic gardening tools and compost, pots and some flower seeds

Outcome For Client

Soon after accessing our services Dumitru started to change. He was calmer and more engaging and showed a strong desire to end his homelessness. When he moved into the Winter Provision house, he had so much pride in his new home (room). He took great delight in showing staff photos of the room and how tidy he was keeping it. The local authority housing team even reported him to be ‘an ideal tenant” this following their property visits!

Having this safe, warm space, via the winter project, enabled him to rethink and take stock of his situation and to work with his Key Worker to develop an action plan – this included longer term housing solutions and employment.

To support his mental health, he was keen to do some gardening in his HMO’s garden and the staff were able to provide him with some basic tools, compost, seeds and pots. He was so pleased and could not wait to get home and get started.

Progress

Towards the end of March 2022 Dumitru had engaged in a number of ESOL lessons developing his English skills and improve his employability. He was exploring with his Key Worker and our network of local employers the opportunity for warehouse work. Sadly for various reasons this did not materialise, however it did not dampen his enthusiasm to move forward.

As he was making excellent progress the local authority granted him a further month extension on his room, so he did not return to the streets at the end of the winter project. In late March he started his induction training with Tesco warehousing. On 31st March, he was offered a brand new apartment by the local authority. He was so thrilled and moved in the same day… even though he had no furniture! The following week we requested some furniture for him via our networks and these were delivered direct to his new home.

He continues to access our services for support and is attending ESOL lessons.