This week, we’re trying to help a 26 year old man called Rowan.

Rowan's mum was violent, so he had to move in with his nan when he was 11. His nan became unwell and couldn’t care for him anymore, so he was placed into care.

Rowan has an autism diagnosis and his support worker said he finds it challenging to maintain stable relationships. He was in and out of foster care for most of his teenage years and, when he was old enough, he was given a property in social housing. But he wasn’t used to taking care of himself and had no support. Rowan was sexually abused by a neighbour and was then placed in supported living under social services. Around this time, Rowan was also being financially and physically abused by a family member, who has a problem with drug use.

With the support of social services, Rowan has now moved out of supported living and into a council property on his own. He is away from the people who were taking advantage of him, and has even started doing some voluntary gardening work for elderly people in the community. He was nominated by his support worker, who said Rowan tends to neglect himself and has very few possessions. 

He has no family support and has been through a decade of trauma. We’d like to give him a fresh start in his new home.