After a traumatic childhood, Mosope, grew up in foster care from the age of 11. When she found out she was pregnant, Depaul supported her to get counselling to deal with the trauma she had experienced as a child. Now, she is proud mum to her happy and healthy baby boy.
“I went into foster care when I was 11. The environment I was in was not safe for me. I was in one place for a long time. My foster carer was really lovely and she really did support me. But it was challenging at first when I moved out. It took me a while to find my feet and get up and running.
“I got referred to Depaul through my Personal Advisor. I had issues that I needed to resolve, especially with family and stuff. He sort of explained to me what Depaul offers and I was open to the idea.
“I was having a baby, and before my baby came I wanted to sort out issues from my past and so I could be a better mum to my child. Depaul set up weekly sessions on this for quite a few weeks with a professional counsellor.
“It has really helped to let me move beyond the experiences I had as a child. Making it ok that I have dealt with these experiences and not having to repeat those same experiences once you have a child. They were teaching me to be more in touch with my feelings and to be more comfortable in sharing how I feel.
“I don’t think I’ve come across an organisation like this before. It’s so rare to combine the benefits you get from it. I feel like a lot of care leavers they don’t get that support or they don’t know where to find that support. Information is not always accessible, meaning unless you’re informed you wouldn’t necessarily know where to find it. So organisations like Depaul give them the opportunity to be able to. The people seem to actually enjoy what they do and it reflects on how they act towards you. That’s been something that I’ve always noticed.
“I have support from Depaul still- checking up on me, calling me and making sure my mental health is good. Something so small can have such a big impact. I’ve had my baby and he is nine months now. It’s been great and it’s taught me so much. I’m definitely proud of myself.”
