‘Neil’ is in his late thirties and a forces veteran. Prior to coming to Crossways Winter Provision in January 2025, he served a prison sentence for a violent offence. His experiences in the armed forces had a significant impact on his mental health.
Despite regular periods of intense anxiety, some related to difficult relationships with his family, Neil engaged well with our support team. As a consequence, the City Council offered him a room in a shared house. Neil moved to the property shortly before Crossways closed in early April 2025.
A few months after this move, the council contacted us to say that Neil had created no issues, but was struggling with the behaviour of his housemates.
They enquired about the possibility of Neil moving into the next available ITAC Community Land Trust modular home. Knowing that Neil had built a positive relationship with our Crossways team, some of whom help provide the support at the modular homes site, we were receptive to that suggestion.
Not only did Neil get the chance to move from an environment where his mental health was undermined, but was reunited with one of his fellow residents at Crossways. They share similar current experiences – e.g. access to their children – and will be able to support each other as they attempt to play a much greater part in their children’s lives.
