Withdrawing from course

Beverley

I know a 19 year old student who is about to withdraw from her course - it seems it was a mutual decision by both her and the uni as although she'd attended every class and done every presentation etc, she hadn't handed in a single essay. She says she panics at the thought of doing them. She tends to buckle under pressure so it's probably just as well she's at least recognised that uni isn't the place for her now.

There are issues with depression, she is morbidly obese and has no pride in her appearance so is unlikely to be able to get any employer to take her on.

In any case, she is due to have major reconstructive surgery to her leg at the end of July. This should put her out of action for a few weeks after that anyway.

She must vacate her student flat by 5th July but has nowhere to live when she does and of course she now has a debt of a few grand for her student loan and a £500 overdraft.

Where does she start? She needs support and the uni tutors are being sweet and making sympathitic noises but not much pratical help - I'm well aware that they have no duty of care as she's withdrawing.

Connexions are supposed to be involved with people up to 20 years but she'll be 20 in August and I suspect they're delaying as it's a matter of sorting her out with both accomodation and benefits. Does anyone have any idea of where she can go, with support from me, for help?

cardiffforthefacup

How very unfortunate, does she want to go back to uni at some stage or is she withdrawing altogether, if she does want to go back she could ask for a suspension,she would need the help of student services for this though and may be too late about extenuating circumstances. However there is a possibility she could come back at a later stage on another course if she so wished, with doctors letter she would probably get funding for it. So all is not lost.

Her depression would have caused panic and procrastination and would have prevented her from being successful in her studies, it doesn't make her a failure but with her lack of confidence at the moment she isn't going to see it like that.

I suspect she gets help for her depression off the doctor, if not she should urgently seek this out. The depression needs to be treated even short term anti depressants work, this will help her to have the motivation to get herself sorted out, probably could get counselling, (this is available at her doctors, they can refer her or she could see the resident counsellor). I don't think she will get over her depression easilly without the extra help. You have to be careful that you don't do too much yourself it is important that she does things for herself, it is very easy to become dependant on someone else when feeling this way and then you could become down yourself.

You need to contact your local social security office and make a claim for benefits; she is probably going to be entitled to incapacity as her operation is going to stop her from working anyway. You need to urgently contact your local housing authority(council offices) and inform them that she will be homeless after 5th July, if she has nowhere to go (eg, sleep on friends sofa, family etc) they should offer something or guide her in right direction, she would get help with housing benefit if she could find a place to live if she is getting income support/other benefits. there is a guide to all the benefits a person can get on the forum boards if you take a look. I'm sure there is more knowledgable people on this forum who will be forthcoming with advice, but I hope this might be a bit helpful for now.

Oldernotwiser

Starting with the obvious (sorry if I've missed something) but why can't she go home? Even if she were younger, Connexions don't really sort her out with accommodation but point her in the right direction to do this for herself; they're not social services, although they might be more appropriate.

bestpud

It's a shame she didn't feel able to seek help earlier really. At this stage there isn't a lot her tutors can do tbh. Would have been good if they could have helped out earlier but perhaps they have tried? She is an adult so their obligations are limited anyway, and plus, they are not trained to deal with such issues, although they could have referred her to student support.

There is no need for her to worry about her student loans yet, so that's one thing out of the way for now. She will probably have to arrange something for the overdraft though. The CAB would probably help negotiate if the bank are unwilling to listen at all.

Is she getting help with her depression? And is her weight problem linked to her leg problem? If there is some form of exercise she can do, maybe you could encourage her and perhaps join her, as that will improve her health, her mood and possibly her confidence too.

Re housing - I think ONW is correct and connections have no duty to house her. The best place to start is her local council as CftC has said. She can register as homeless and enquire about HB and what help she can get. The new system means she will be restricted in what type of accomodation she can get help with.

Personally, I'd pay a visit to the CAB and take it from there. They should definitely be able to tell you what she is entitled to and how to access it.

Beverley

She does not wish to go back for some time - several years.

She has been seeing a counsellor but is going to see the Dr for anti-depressants.

I'm a counsellor (not hers obviously) and am well aware of the dangers of having her become overly dependent on me.

She has completed several appliction forms for housing for the homeless and cannot apply for benefits until 5th July. I am being careful to find out where she should go for help and talking her through what is necessary but not doing it for her.

Thanks for the reply

Beverley

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Starting with the obvious (sorry if I've missed something) but why can't she go home? Even if she were younger, Connexions don't really sort her out with accommodation but point her in the right direction to do this for herself; they're not social services, although they might be more appropriate.

Going home is not an option. Social Services are not interested in her as she's not a child or a vulnerable adult

Beverley

bestpud wrote: »

It's a shame she didn't feel able to seek help earlier really. At this stage there isn't a lot her tutors can do tbh. Would have been good if they could have helped out earlier but perhaps they have tried? She is an adult so their obligations are limited anyway, and plus, they are not trained to deal with such issues, although they could have referred her to student support.

Yes we're aware of this - support from tutors was not expected.

bestpud wrote: »

There is no need for her to worry about her student loans yet, so that's one thing out of the way for now. She will probably have to arrange something for the overdraft though. The CAB would probably help negotiate if the bank are unwilling to listen at all.

Thanks - that's helpful to know

bestpud wrote: »

Is she getting help with her depression? And is her weight problem linked to her leg problem?

Not really - it's linked to the depression but is also a habit - her leg issue does mean she finds it difficult to bear her weight for long.

bestpud wrote: »

If there is some form of exercise she can do, maybe you could encourage her and perhaps join her, as that will improve her health, her mood and possibly her confidence too.

Exercise is not possible until after her operation - her weight makes her leg even more painful.

bestpud wrote: »

Re housing - I think ONW is correct and connections have no duty to house her. The best place to start is her local council as CftC has said. She can register as homeless and enquire about HB and what help she can get. The new system means she will be restricted in what type of accomodation she can get help with.

Thanks

bestpud wrote: »

Personally, I'd pay a visit to the CAB and take it from there. They should definitely be able to tell you what she is entitled to and how to access it.

She saw CAB last week - they told her she couldn't make a claim for benefit yetand gave her deatils of sheltered accomodation for the elderly

cardiffforthefacup

I don't know if this is useful or not, but I read an article today on someone becoming homeless and they contacted the charity 'Shelter' who helped them out enormously, worth a try.

lilysgarden

Yup, Shelter is always the first port of call I recommend for housing issues! Also, see what housing support charities are available in your area. Both charities can give you huge amounts of advice and support in where to go, who to talk to etc. Shelter will also be able to help her access night stop services, and be able to tell her where various housing charities are. I work for one such charity in Cheltenham and can tell you, there is no way I would ever want to have to rely on them myself. They aren't the most pleasant places to live due to the types of young people who are often relying on them (many with mental health, substance misuse and criminal histories).

But, you can move on much quicker to somewhere better as long as you stick to the house rules. It's often stuff like you must use your time constructively (education, work, counselling etc) and be in the unit by certain times of night, attend residents meetings and take part in house activities etc. The charity I work for also has a 'First stop' shop where young people can drop in for all sorts of help. We have on duty Connexions advisers, CAB advisors, various staff who work for the housing units and social services advisors. People can come in and wait to talk to whoever is on duty for whatever their query is and we get lots of people walk in and announce they were made homeless that day. See if there's any kind of first stop services in your area that she can go to as all the advice she needs will be in one place.

Go online to www.ccprojects.org.uk This is the charity I work for and only covers Gloucestershire, but if you contact them, they may be able to tell you where local Foyer services are in your area. They also have online advice about benefits she's entitled to etc, so they should be able to give you a much better idea of what needs doing.Sadly she has to be officially homeless before she can apply for anything including alot of benefits. The day she moves out, she needs to go straight to Social Services, CAB, and local charities to declare herself homeless (try the charities such as Foyer first as they usually contact everyone for you and tend to work harder to get you somewhere). Get her to get a letter from her GP outlining her depression and how it affects her health and well being, as well as describing her leg problem and what kind of after care she will need for it. It's not guaranteed, but it may give her a stronger case in getting something, even if it's just a B&B for a few weeks till something else comes up. It may also bump her up the housing waiting list a little as a vulnerable adult. But obviously that will depend on how severe the depression is.

Good luck and hope she sorts something soon1

Nik xx

Beverley

Thanks for all the replies - I have passed the link for this thread to her so she can read for herself.