STABLE

STABLE is a housing support service in Aberdeen city for anyone who has, or is recovering from, a mental health problem and wishes to become more independent.

What do we do?
We aim to support individuals to work towards independent living and include them and their referrers in the provision of our support. We view anyone using the service as an individual with the right to have his or her voice heard and choices respected.

How do we do it?
STABLE promotes a recovery model in its service delivery, believing that everyone has the right to a fulfilling life and the ability to move on in their lives if allowed the right support.

The types of things we can help with are varied and individual but here are some examples of things we have helped with:

Chris is a middle-aged dog owner, has had long-standing problems with local children who target him and call him names. Sometimes they throw missiles at him when he is going out to the local shops. He was often too scared to leave the house particularly in the evenings. Chris knows he needs to get out to exercise his dog and feeling stuck in the house is extremely distressing for him. Through working alongside Chris in his neighbourhood, we have supported him to engage with the anti-social behaviour wardens in the area and other local facilities and services. This helped him to feel less isolated and more assertive. Though he often phones us for advice, he now feels more able to take control of his own problems.

Mary is a twenty-two year old woman who moved into her own flat last year. She regularly runs out of money to pay her bills because her friends are always borrowing money and forgetting to pay her back. She was reluctant to remind them because she worried she would lose her friends. She was often out of pocket for months at a time and has been in arrears with her rent. Working alongside Mary, we have agreed her household budgets so she knows how much money she should have left after paying her bills. She can also work out which household costs are most important to her and which ones she can put off paying if she needs to. She now chooses whether she wishes to lend money to friends. She has also worked on how to say ‘no' and how to ask for the money back. Mary also now attends college, which we supported her to access so she has a wider social network.

William has smoked cannabis and experimented with other drugs for several years. He gets very paranoid and feels he loses his sense of reality quickly after smoking it. William says it makes him mentally ill. He has engaged with STABLE partly to help him take control back over his life. STABLE supports William with his relapse prevention programme and has helped him gain the assertiveness skills he feels he needs to be able to turn down drugs that are offered to him.

The identities above have been altered to preserve confidentiality but the stories are genuine

When is the service available?

The service is available 7 days a week   9am-9pm
Core working hours:                    Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
On call hours:                               Mon-Fri 5pm-9pm
                                                    Sat-Sun 9am-9pm

Contact STABLE on 01224 577322