Paul's Story

A history of mental ill-health

Paul was diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic in his mid 20s and this ultimately led to the breakdown of his marriage.

He then lived in various places such as with family, at the local YMCA and the Reading Single Homeless Project. His mental health problems meant he spent a lot of time in hospital and this led to many problems for him. He was eventually evicted from his property.

This left him homeless, and he moved in to a Salvation Army hostel. He found life there tough as many of the residents had drug and alcohol issues. The environment contributed to a deterioration in his mental health.

Help with learning and skills

Shortly after moving in to the hostel Paul was put in touch with REAP Resettlement Agency who help single vulnerable people gain access to appropriate housing. They helped Paul with a variety of different aspects of his life. With their help, he went on to complete courses at Reading College to improve his reading and writing skills.

Undertaking the courses helped him immensely with his mental health problems and he moved on to do a NVQ 2 in Amenity Horticulture (Landscaping).

Setting up his own business with help from Changing Lives

Upon completion of the course, the next step was to set up his own landscape gardening business. He had decided against working for an employer because of his mental illness. His caseworker had heard about Changing Lives and thought that Paul was a perfect candidate. Paul was unsuccessful in his first application but took on board the improvements that the panel had suggested and attended a three-day business training course. He was successful second time around and received an award for £800 for tools and various business costs.

Paul says that the "award has helped me an awful lot because I didn’t have the money to buy vital equipment. The award has helped me to get started very quickly. I can now take on jobs as they come in."

Paul is now well established and has regular work and is steadily increasing his customer base. For the future he is also looking to increase his skills and perhaps gain qualifications in other areas and take on some staff.