Megan's Story

Megan was referred into Manchester Women’s Aid due to experiencing homelessness after she left her abusive relationship. At the time, Megan was sofa surfing between friends. Megan had experienced physical, emotional, psychological, economic and financial abuse in her previous relationship in addition to coercive control. During the relationship, Megan was not allowed to see her friends, family or go to work. 

 Megan was allocated 2 key workers who encouraged her to register with Manchester Move. She received homeless duty from Manchester City Council. Megan’s rights and what she was entitled to from the council were outlined by her keyworkers, she was also supported to look for relevant benefits and to consider money management education to help with finances. 

Megan was struggling with social anxiety which was restricting her ability to access her GP for support with her mental health. Her keyworker helped Megan prepare for her face-to-face meetings and phone appointments. From this, Megan was able to plan to help her manage her anxiety to enable her to attend a GP appointment. Further to this, Megan was supported to access the Reach drop-in, helping her to become more comfortable in social settings. 

Megan was supported to understand her experiences of domestic abuse through sessions that addressed feelings of grief/ loss after leaving an abusive relationship, barriers to leaving an abusive relationship, safety planning, the Power and Control Wheel and the impact domestic abuse can have. Megan engaged well with Manchester Women’s Aid – she often expressed that she had learnt a lot that would help with both platonic and romantic relationships. 

Sessions would touch on Megan’s confidence and her feelings of low self-worth, where it was highlighted that emotional abuse can further impact this. Megan was beginning to better manage her thoughts of low self-worth through coping mechanisms and techniques to instead improve confidence and self-esteem.