Teresa
Teresa had a difficult family upbringing; she was moved to London, where her mother had a breakdown, and then back to Liverpool. She described being the black sheep of the family and not doing well at school and started sleeping around at an early age. She was regularly bullied and beaten up as a child, living in a close-knit community where both children and adults were violent. She had a serious relationship between fifteen and twenty-one which was violent, and although, at the time she didn't find it frightening, it resulted in her becoming homeless. Despite earlier school failure and living in a difficult relationship, Teresa went back to college and achieved an English GCE and did a First Diploma in Business Studies. She had to leave the course after the break up of this relationship, as she was homeless with a child to support.
She was offered office work but was unable to keep office hours because of childcare problems. She also lacked support at home and ended up working in several chip shops. A new partner also became violent and the effect of this, another child and the lack of support to study, resulted in her giving up the new college course in electronics that she had started. Having left college, she became involved in drugs, ending up homeless because of lack of money and rent arrears.
Teresa eventually left the violent relationship and lived with her mum, which provided her with somewhere to live and help with the children. This enabled Teresa to work in a care home and become financially independent. The arrangement was stressful as Teresa felt that her son suffered from ADS (Attention Deficient Syndrome) and her mother was unable to care for him properly. She also felt that he was becoming violent like his father.
Chrysalis supported her application for a house of her own and gave her the emotionally support she needed to work out her difficulties with her children. Teresa ended up leaving work, as she did not have sufficient reliable childcare for a job that required shifts and anti social hours. She learnt to use the computer that Chrysalis had provided whilst she was off work. Through the computer she learnt new skills and began helping Chrysalis with administration at the same time. Teresa felt she was living her life 'each day as it comes' and Chrysalis was one of the support systems that enabled her to do this.
"I have been through extreme violence with one partner ...it might not have been as often as my last partner but when it came, it came with a vengeance, you know it just messes you up and as well as trying to rebuild a house and keep it all happy for them [the children] you don't concentrate, you lose yourself."
"...if you've got someone whose not just physically abusing but mentally abusing you, and a lot of it in the end is they become so powerful over you, they totally take over you where your life is just making their life happy. You have got no other thought in your head except will this make them happy?"