Rowan's Story

Support details

Rowan came to YMCA after living in a foster placement outside of Telford, but struggled to manage in a shared house, being around other young people with the same sort of backgrounds, and he found himself close to losing his licence.

He was offered a smaller shared home with one other person. The other resident started to exploit and physically abuse Rowan. He was served notice, but Rowan was offered his own bedsit in order to give him peace of mind that he would be safe.

Rowan agreed to an ADHD referral being submitted, and he engaged really well with support sessions. He found himself an evening job and started to work, giving him a purpose in life. Unfortunately, the job didn’t last as he was not able to manage the commitment required and did not yet have medication to help manage his ADHD.

He was also left with rent debt, which he needed to clear. He was supported to get UC back in place and agreed he would not seek work again until he had completed more of his support plan actions and got a formal ADHD diagnosis.

He was eventually diagnosed with ADHD with severe impact, and also Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, which gave him an explanation for many of his behaviours and reactions. He accepted medication straight away and this had a positive impact on him.

Rowan moved from a bedsit to his own flat and initially managed this well. Unfortunately, his nan passed away, whom he was very close to, and his mental health declined rapidly.

Rowan stopped taking his medication and deteriorated so significantly that he attempted to take his own life. He had barricaded the door to the property, which a manager had to force open, and taken a cocktail of medications.

Staff called 999 and were initially told there would be a 7-hour response time due to demand on the ambulance service. Rowan’s condition became so serious that 999 were called back and staff were told to start CPR if he deteriorated any further.

A paramedic attended within minutes and an ambulance was found, with Rowan being taken to A&E. He survived the attempt and was discharged home that day.

Over a period of time, he worked on his grief and visited his nan’s grave so he could see where she was and start to heal. He was able to talk to her and began his grieving process in a safe way.

Rowan started moving forward again and took advantage of the 10 free driving lessons offered to him as a care leaver. He enjoyed these and said once PIP was sorted he would like to start driving. He was awarded PIP in April 2024, but after some consideration decided to wait until he had moved on to drive.

Rowan suffered an unexpected serious deterioration in his mental health again in May 2024, where he once again made a serious attempt to take his own life, almost exactly the same as the previous attempt. Again, staff found him and called 999. He was put in an induced coma for 24 hours but fortunately made a full recovery.

He has worked further on his grief and has accepted mental health support to enable him to better manage important anniversaries and milestone dates.

Rowan wanted to be considered for one of YMCA’s new move-on flats, due to open in summer 2024. There was some reluctance from staff around this due to concerns about his mental health, but Rowan was certain that a move would be a fresh start and would give him a physical reminder of his life moving forward positively.

Rowan required additional help managing the condition of his property whilst he worked through his mental health difficulties and waited for his new flat.

Rowan finally moved into his move-on flat at our New College scheme in August 2024 and is incredibly happy and proud of his new home and the progress he has made in his life.

Post-STSA update

At the end of May 2025, Rowan felt ready to move out of YMCA housing, along with his girlfriend Isabelle, into their own property on a joint tenancy. They have been joined in their new home by a pet dog and are excited for their future together.