Olivia Winter

We STAND FOR fair treatment of young people with exceptional challenges

About Olivia:

I’m 19 years old and a full time student.

What did STAND FOR do for Olivia and her mother?

“Mum has always worked hard for everything we have,” said Olivia,”in 2015 she was made redundant, the previous year her father died, and there have been lots of family issues mum has had to cope with over recent years. She is a single parent and has brought me up on her own.

The redundancy badly affected mum and her mood became very low.  I think it was a mixture of everything that had gone on. She was tearful all the time and she had never been like this before. She was always strong, busy and full of life. But since the redundancy her mood got lower. Money worries were a real issue too, which stressed her out even more.  I felt useless.  I wanted to help but had nowhere to turn, until I discovered STAND FOR.”

“I just wanted mum to be happy again”

What was the outcome?

“I messaged STAND FOR and told them everything that was going on,” said Olivia, “once we’d discussed the challenges and how they might be resolved, I felt immediately empowered and a weight was lifted from my shoulders.  Whilst mum needed help emotionally, we also needed practical help and STAND FOR understood this straight away and provided the appropriate short term support.

Mum’s depression is now under control, any bad days she has are nothing like she experienced before. Mum is doing well working and enjoying life again and I’m at college working hard to fulfil my potential, which I know I wouldn’t be doing if I was still supporting mum in the dark days.”

Describe what STAND FOR means to you.

“STAND FOR gave us hope,” said Olivia,”we felt listened to and cared for, when we both felt lost and alone.   If STAND FOR hadn’t stepped in, the outcome would likely have been very different.  I’m so pleased to have my mum back and really proud that I took the initiative and asked for help.”

Jane Russell

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