Caz had been living alone for several years following the death of her husband.
She had been diagnosed with depression and was looking for work struggling to pay her rent, bills and put food on the table, and had been threatened with eviction.
Ongoing struggles to get the benefits she was entitled to started taking its toll on her mental health.
“It was killing me. I had so little money that I spent a period of time living off of burger sauce. I was putting on a brave face but falling apart behind the scenes.”
Eventually everything became too much and she suffered a mental breakdown, eventually collapsing in public.
A police community warden put Caz in touch with us and she was paired up with support worker Angela from our partners at Porchlight.
“When I met with Angela it was a revelation,” says Caz. “It was the first time somebody actually listened to me and asked how they could help in practical terms. It brought me to tears.
“I’d become so used to people having preconceptions about the type of person I was. I’m a hard worker and have had plenty of jobs but they’d already made up their mind about me. Angela and Live Well Kent weren’t like that at all.”
With our help, Caz was able to start receiving the benefits she is rightfully entitled to.
“Angela really went the extra mile, whether it was filling out complicated forms or accompanying me to meetings about my benefits. Things are much better now but I still know I can call her up about any problem I’m having.”