BEA’S STORY (TOLD BY HER MENTOR CARRIE)
Hello, I’m Carrie and I’m a Mentor at The Door. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
At the moment I’m supporting a mum with a long history of complex trauma. She’s experienced loss, domestic violence, abuse and pretty much anything else you can think of.
Her name is Bea. When we first met she’d lost all trust in professionals because everything she had done had been time-limited – 6 weeks here or 3 months there. Bea told me how she had never had enough time to get to know those supporting her, never had enough time to learn to trust them and was exhausted from telling her story over and over again.
Bea was referred to The Door by her daughter’s school and initially agreed to be supported over the phone. She was too anxious to go out or meet someone new. We would chat for an hour or so each week about what was going on and how things were going at home. We’d also talk about how school was going for her daughter, but always made sure to keep Bea’s needs front and centre.
A few months in we were focusing on helping Bea to get the courage to attend to a meeting with other professionals about
her daughter’s schooling. She had just about got herself in a place to go out of the house and attend when the meeting was cancelled.
I wrongly assumed this would push us backwards but instead she was the one to suggest we meet for coffee instead.
This was such a breakthrough, and I was quietly excited for her to take this next step.
Since that first coffee we haven’t looked back and now we meet in person each week as well as the odd text or call in
between.
Mum says “My mentor at The Door is someone I can trust. She can support me at meetings and has my corner. I know
I still have a long way to go but I have hope for the future knowing I have somebody by my side.”
Find out more about the support available to parents at thedoor.org.uk/support