Ellie Atkins a manager and safeguarding lead for a social work team in Manchester working with people experiencing severe multi-exclusion homelessness has written an article in Community Care.
The article explores explore the context in which people’s struggles appear and suggest what we can do to improve the lives of some of the most misunderstood people in our society.
Executive functioning, which is located the frontal lobes of the brain, allows us to plan, problem-solve, inhibit our behaviour and emotions, make goals, see them through and have the ability to act out our wishes and be who we want to be.
When our executive functions are compromised or impaired in some way, this is called executive dysfunction. It can be hard to spot, because it changes, depending on the environmental, emotional and social context we find ourselves in.
Read Beryl’s story a lady with chronic and dependent alcohol addiction who said she did not want to work with services or receive help with her drinking. When the team moved the focus from her alcohol addiction and homelessness, and tried to understand ‘why’ she would behave in a certain way, the context in which her struggles appeared started to become unveiled. Using the Care Act provision to override a refusal of assessment when someone is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect, and a team around the person approach, to gain an understanding of Beryl’s life story and understand the ‘why’.
Research indicates many homeless people have hidden disabilities that affect their decision making. But by focusing on their need for safety, practitioners can help them take control of their lives.
You can watch a series of short videos to find out more about Beryl's story, rough sleeping and executive function with individuals experiencing homlessness.
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