A 22 year old man was provided a referral to you via the youth gateway service. He has spent the last five years cycling in and out of homelessness and living on the streets. In the first day he engaged with you he presented as angry, stressed, delusional and abusive. He is keen to have his own house in which to live but appears resistant to most other supports you have tried to offer.
Intake
Your initial focus is building a rapport with the young man, and as he is resistant to discussing other needs in his life, you agree to work with him around his main priority which housing. With his permission you also contact the youth gateway service which has had some level of contact with him over the past two years, to inform his presenting issues. Although he refuses to talk with you a great deal, you spend time with him helping him to understand your services, and talking about his interests, including music. You also observe his tendency to be aggressive about issues that frustrate him, such as lack of immediate independent housing. He informs you he would prefer to remain on the streets than stay in emergency men’s housing. However, he agrees to keep in contact with you because you agree to prioritise his housing need, above other issues you feel are just as important, such as his aggressive tendencies.