Susan was a 59 year old homeless lady with acute mental ill health. She came to Scarborough to take her own life. She was suffering due to horrendous circumstances that had occurred in her younger years. The Rainbow became aware of her and began working with her but she was very immobile and had a vast amount of bags and a trolley. She slept each night in a shelter above the Spa Grand Hall close to the sea. Each morning the van would go an pick her up to bring her to the rainbow to get warm and to eat a hot meal. Because she insisted on carrying all her belongings around with her the van was the only way to get her into the Centre. As she was at the Rainbow other agencies were able to try to engage with her and get her into the system for Mental Health Services and other help. She was very reluctant to accept that help and the van was used to take her back to her shelter each night, making sure she was warm and had food and drinks to get her through. This went on for some weeks during which the van was used daily for this journey. Susan began to build up trust in the Rainbow and in the van men. We started talking to her about going back home to where her Mum still lived and where more support was in place for her. Mental health services were involved in these discussions. She refused to go as she was scared of the trains. We also knew that if she went this way she would get off at the nearest station and come back to fulfil her original plan. We suggested to her that she could go back in the van with our volunteers who would take her to the door of her Mum’s home and make sure she was safely home. She had built up trust in the volunteers who had befriended her, and after some delay she agreed to this. The van with its volunteer female and male drivers took her 250 miles to her home. We have since heard that she is on new medication, is seeing and engaging with mental health teams and has moved into a supported housing property. None of this would have been possible without the van.
