Before Liam O’Neill, 24, arrived at Ridgeway’s Queen Victoria House, he had lived at 20 addresses in four years and needed support to get his life back on track.
Suffering from schizophrenia, Liam used to squat in houses or sleep on friend’s sofas, trying to hold onto a bit of sanity. Then he was referred to Queen Victoria House in Swindon.
There support workers help residents to develop the life skills and confidence to leave supported housing and run their own homes within two years.
Now Liam is running his own home with his partner, has a young boy and is studying music technology at college in Bristol.
BBC radio interview
In October 2007, Ridgeway held an open day at Queen Victoria House to celebrate World Mental Health Day. BBC Radio Wiltshire ran a feature on the scheme’s success and interviewed Liam O’Neill and Martin Bowen, Ridgeway’s senior housing support worker. Click here to listen to the interviews.
