In 2016 Ian was working as a carer full time, and living with his parents. When Ian’s mum died suddenly, he became a carer for his dad, Bill, who had early onset dementia. During this time Ian had to have a knee replaced so ended up being on sick leave, but still had the responsibilities of caring for Bill.
Unfortunately after the operation he was unable to continue his job as a carer, going from a full time wage to no pay. As well as financial struggles, he found full time caring for his dad 24/7 difficult. Ian’s dad died in January last year. Ian felt like since then, everything came crashing down. He had no parents, bills to pay and things to sort out. Ian really struggled with the loss and all his new responsibilities. At his local job centre, it was recommended that he contact Valley House. After reaching out, he began working with Valley House every two weeks. A support worker helped him to him to find which benefits he was entitled to, supported him to make payment plans and explored ways to improve his overall wellbeing. His initial Valley House worker was promoted he was assigned a new member of staff to continue the work. Ian has said that the transfer was smooth and the support he has been given every week is invaluable.
Having someone to talk to has really helped Ian as (not wanting to burden them), he doesn’t talk to his family. He feels his mental health has definitely improved, and is currently on a waiting list for counselling with us.
Ian feels he’s been in ‘limbo’ for the last four years but now has someone helping him move forward.
For more Survivors Stories See: https://valleyhouse.org.uk/case-studies/
