Supporting family relationships
Patrick receives support from the team at Phoenix House. The support team offer plenty of encouragement and support to help Patrick and his brother work hard at maintaining a strong relationship, resulting in them often ringing and texting each other.
It is hard for them to see one another as they live quite a distance apart and as neither drive, meaning it can take a lot of planning and organising to bring them together.
Despite the challenges the team encourage Patrick to arrange regular meet ups with his brother, as this gives him something positive to focus on, and actively encourages open lines of communication with his brother. As a team, colleagues at Phoenix House try to encourage Patrick to take control of this, rather than him becoming reliant on them they support him to assume the lead. It helps to in a healthy realisation for Patrick that as a support team, we are here to enable and facilitate his choices. This then also provides Patrick the additional benefit of feeling hugely proud of what he has achieved.
“Today my brothers coming
It fills my heart with Joy
I don’t see him very often
So, I have to make every second he’s here count
I’m sad when he has to go
And I miss him very much
I really wish he’d come more often
As I love him so
My little brother Patrick.”
23rd March 2018
Above is the beautiful poem that Patricks brother wrote for him. Rather wonderfully it captures the loving nature of their relationship. They both only have each other, in terms of family, and so the importance of being in one another’s lives is evident to see in this poem.
Having received this poem, Patrick and his brother spoke at length and agreed to make their visits as regular as possible. Patrick has since invited his friends to travel with him, meeting up with his brother, most recently to celebrate his birthday. Everyone had a nice time.
When Patrick goes to his brothers, they often meet up at his brother’s house, have a little catch up, exchange gifts that they have bought each other and then head into town. They enjoy a wander around the shops, it’s good for Patrick as there are a few shops which he really likes that aren’t in his home town. Together they make the most of this opportunity, often heading to a pub to have a beer and some food.
Image: Patrick and his brother at his brother’s home.