From Hospital to Home
For Beth, life in hospital started when she was just 16 years old. Over the next eight years, she found herself moved from ward to ward, often hundreds of miles from home, and never truly belonging anywhere.
“Out of all the things I’ve ever done in my life, the worst was being in hospital,” she recalls. “It’s meant to keep you safe, but it definitely doesn’t. It felt like being trapped.”
Beth describes long stretches where she was kept on wards unnecessarily, often misunderstood by professionals who saw her sensory and regulation needs as mental illness. “The way they treated people was disgusting really. They put me in the wrong category. And when I did need support, they often got it the wrong way round. Hospitals didn’t keep me safe.”
Alongside the sense of restriction came the absence of the basics of a home. “I just wanted somewhere that felt like my home, with people who cared and listened. Instead, it was like I was living in someone else’s house — given the worst room you could imagine.”
That all changed when Beth moved into Great Meadows, an Active Prospects home, at the age of 24.
“From the start, it was just different in such a good way. I can tell the staff care. No one’s given up on me, and I’ve been given endless chances. I used to say I’d rather live in a tent with the right support than in a nice house with the worst support. Now, I’ve got the best of both.”
Beth now has her own flat, her beloved dog Lenny, and a routine that brings her purpose. “Lenny gives me a reason to wake up every day. Helping others helps me too. I volunteer with a local group called Include — it’s so inclusive, it’s unbelievable. They make adjustments for everybody. I love helping set up, doing Easy Read materials, and supporting others. If I’m having a bad day, making someone else’s day better makes me feel better too.”
Her hopes for the future are simple but powerful. She wants to build her independence and go to the gym on her own.
