Guy's story

“He couldn’t talk, had no routine, and didn’t know how to structure his day. It’s a safe, contained and supportive environment to stay in and he hasn’t looked back since he got here” Sally – Denham House Program Manager

Guy is only 22 but finds it difficult to estimate how many houses, flats, boarding and rooming houses, backpacker and other transitional homes he has lived in.

Guy, who was born in Sydney, can list 11 Melbourne suburbs in which he has stayed. He also went to boarding school on the Gold Coast and Armidale (NSW) and lived in Britain.

His parents separated when he was about two, and his father moved to Scotland. About six years ago, his mother went to England. Before she left, it was not uncommon for them to shift house every few weeks. “She moved around to get away from things,” he says.

Guy did have some good experiences at one of his five schools where he made close friends, and at one stage he lived with loving foster parents, but these episodes provided fleeting relief in his otherwise unsettled life.

At 18, when he was old enough to look after himself, Guy moved to transitional housing but because of the temporary nature of this accommodation, it only continued the cycle.

Guy remembers moving every three months and it was during these times that he thinks he developed psychotic symptoms. Some of the contributing factors were probably isolation, poverty and having little contact with other people, and as he withdrew from society his symptoms increased.

When he arrived at Richmond Fellowship’s Denham House in May 2006, he was withdrawn, lonely and showing marked symptoms of psychosis.

“He couldn’t talk, had no routine, and didn’t know how to structure his day,” program manager Sally says.

He underwent clinical assessments to better understand his psychotic episodes. Small amounts of medication made a big difference, and gradually, with Mind staff providing a structured program that gave him purpose and direction, and by socialising with other clients, he built up his confidence and started achieving his own goals.

“Now I’m finding out what I like doing,” he says. “The staff are nice people and they support me in what I want to do.”

He is helping a friend with a children’s entertainment business, doing a hospitality course so that he can work in a café, considering office work, gardening and landscaping, and becoming more involved in art.

Sally marvels at Guy’s resilience and optimism, and the kind way he treats other clients, especially those new to Denham House.

“It’s a safe, contained and supportive environment to stay in,” she says. “He hasn’t looked back since he got here.”

Guy says he has enjoyed the opportunity to stay in one place for a while. “It’s been a good experience here,” he says. “It’s not good to move around all the time.”

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