Beaten & Bruised 19 year old turns her life around
Jemma, 19, lives in supported housing in a deprived London Borough. She was kicked out of school at an early age for ‘attacking’ a teacher. At 17 she enrolled into college, but later was deregistered; she preferred to spend time with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is a cocaine dealer and is mentally and physically abusive to Jemma. Jemma drinks a bottle of vodka to herself a few times a week. Last week she was taken to hospital to have her stomach pumped, she stopped breathing while they attended to her. They were able to revive her. Jemma was referred to us by her Housing Manager in 2013. She took up the 1-2-1 Personal Coaching Course
Social issues identified:
- Domestic violence
- Low self esteem
- Lack of confidence
- Binge drinking
- Low education
- No motivation
- Bad influence from peers
The Sessions
- By the end of Session 1 Jemma felt embarrassed, upset, angry, disappointed and was keen to change her current path. She agreed to commit to the project
- By session 3 Jemma was more confident and showed genuine understanding of how, why and when she had gone ‘wrong’ in the past, she took ownership
- By session 4 Jemma had re-enrolled into college, she revealed an ambition that she never believed could come true; we showed her steps towards making that dream a reality…
- By session 7 we had a relapse, the ex-boyfriend was back in contact. Jemma was confused but still determined, so we looked at the positive steps she could take to prevent him getting in touch with her.
- By session 9 Jemma was back on track, she gained 81% in a mock exam after spending most of her time revising as opposed to drinking
- By the end of the 12-week program, Jemma was more confident, had a more positive outlook, was applying for an apprenticeship, was happy working on building herself up and not wanting another relationship until she was ready….
Course Feedback
We asked Jemma’s caseworker how she felt Jemma had improved in the following:
- Self Improvement: “Jemma has now improved how she dresses, keeps her flat clean, and makes positive plans for the future”
- Personal Development: ” Jemma has now completed three courses and been offered a job, she also started college for level 3 childcare.”
- Happiness: Jemma seems happy in herself despite a small setback with ex-boyfriend, she has taken him to court and has taken an injunction out on him. She has now met a new boyfriend and is happy, he treats her well.”
- Confidence: “Jemma’s confidence has improved and she is much more outgoing and has now become an ambassador for the housing project, she meets and greets the new customers that are moving in.”
“The moment she realised that what she did was wrong was brilliant, you could see the realisation on her face, after all those years she could finally see it” – Jemma’s Caseworker “
“What have you done to her? Every time she comes out of a session with you she’s so happy, skipping along the corridors, I’ve never seen her like that before” – Housing Project Manager
“Thank you for everything, I couldn’t have done it without you, I feel so much better now, I feel so dumb for it but, at least I can move on… I just want to make my mum proud” – Jemma
“I am super proud of Jemma, she made masses of improvement, I’ll never forget when she walked in and said she’d enrolled in college, I was so shocked but so happy for her, that threw my lesson plan right out of the window! She’s a good girl with a good heart who just allowed herself to fall off the rails, as with many young people, once you show them their choices, they tend to make the right one” – Scarlet Gabriel, Coach
At Scarlet Workshops, we aim to engage, challenge, entertain and provoke a fundamental reassessment of our tolerance and acceptance of things that harm us and stunt our personal growth. We explore positive relationships and effective communication as well as pointing out the importance of making the right choices and taking control of your own life.
Where is she now (2014):
- Jemma is no longer in supported housing and lives in her flat.
- Jemma is working and happy.
- Jemma scheduled a meeting with Scarlet as she felt she needed a little boost
- Jemma and Scarlet still catch up every now and then
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