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Go to P3 Housing
Reaching what she describes as “the last straw” of homelessness, Taz turned to P3 Charity for help. When she first came into P3’s Gloucester Hub, she was covered in bites, her face was red and itchy and she had just been discharged from hospital after a difficult stay in temporary accommodation. After meeting P3’s support team for her initial assessment, Taz was offered a place to stay: The moment she says her recovery began.
Taz’s Support Worker, Hayley, remembers that first meeting clearly: “Initial meetings are [an opportunity for support staff] to understand somebody’s situation as it is now,” Hayley explains. “For Taz, this meant also looking at her background to see what led her into the situation where she would be in a position to need our support services at P3.”
Hayley says that understanding a person’s history can help them develop an individualised support plan that not only addresses their current issue – such as homelessness or unstable housing – but helps to prevent the issue from happening in the future, by looking at the root causes. She adds that these assessments go far beyond housing needs: “It’s not just housing that plays a role in the assessment process, but also physical and mental health issues as well – anything that would make somebody more vulnerable. [We] want to be able to work with people in order for them to have the best positive outcome.”
Taz remembers her own first impressions: “From when I first came in, every single person was really helpful here. All the staff are brilliant. It’s clear that every single person matters.”
The P3 team helped Taz with a wide range of practical and personal challenges, from visiting the Job Centre to help with employment to managing Universal Credit to help with income, as well as supporting her through deeper personal issues and trauma.
Taz is keen to stress that “everybody is different” and that support can never be one-size-fits-all. “While I was here [at P3], I was a Bank Support Worker [for another local provider] myself. Obviously, though, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had a work ethic, but I was [struggling].”
With P3’s help, Taz was able to apply for a Care and Health Improvement Programme and get in touch with other organisations to help build her stability. Even when specialist help wasn’t available, she says, “The P3 staff were here for me whenever I needed, even at night.”
Taz also appreciates how the staff manage challenges calmly and compassionately. “Even when things get heated – because in these sorts of places they always do, especially with people who have a lot going on – the team always make sure everyone is safe. Even when someone is going through something, they don’t shy away; they will always make sure that person knows they have support.”
Hayley explains that this approach is at the core of how P3 works. “At P3, we don’t turn people away. Whatever your circumstances, whatever you’ve come from or whatever situation you are in now, if you need help in any way, shape or form, we will be there to help you. Not just in that immediate instance, but if there is something that we can’t physically do for you, we will reach out to other [organisations] and get that support for you. We will make sure you get the help you deserve to have.”
She adds, “The reason why I love working with P3 is because it is a complete holistic approach that is completely person-centred. Everybody is treated like an individual and with respect and decency. We all want to do the best we can for anybody who comes to our door.”
Taz nods as Hayley speaks. “The hardest part [of my journey] is when I left here,” she says. It wasn’t independence that she struggled with, but the loss of the community and care she’d grown used to. She missed the morning chats, the check-in calls, and the sense of connection in the house.
“Everyone talked to everyone here”, Taz says, “which I think is something you need when you’re going through support.”
Realising that her previous job as a Support Worker might have been too demanding at the time, Taz recently started a part-time “ordinary job”, as she calls it. She’s focused now on maintaining stability and continuing her journey forward. Though she no longer lives at P3 accommodation, she’s still a regular face at the office.
Taz’s gratitude for the support she received has inspired her to give something back. “I want to thank P3. I am trying to put a fundraiser together to try and raise some money so the team here can take the current residents out. I also want to get a bench to go in the garden so residents here can take some time for themselves, but also remember [anyone close to them] that they have lost – like a memorial sort of thing.”
Reflecting on her experience, Taz has one message for anyone who might be struggling or unsure about asking for help: “Come to P3, because as soon as you walk through those doors, there is a load of staff in the office who will help you…. They will never turn you away.”
Through compassion, consistency and community, Taz found not only stability, but hope, and now she’s focused on using her experience to make things better for others.
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