Hey its Jennifer! My placement whilst here in England has been at a place called Changing Lives. Changing Lives is a national, registered charity which provides specialist support services for thousands of vulnerable people and their families, every month. Specifically I am located at the branch in Chester le Street. This specific branch offers support and housing to single homeless men, including those with substance and mental health concerns. I absolutely love working here and hanging out with the residents. They certainly provide me with a lot of insight into addiction and other ways in which adults can be classified as vulnerable. Ive had exposure to people dealing with mental illness and addictions so this was nothing new and there were no stigmas that I necessarily had to breakdown in terms of mentally ill people and people going through recovery. I think that basic understanding is what gives me the foundation to truly take ore out of this experience. Whilst here Ive had the chance to go to Alcoholics Anonymous sessions and other group sessions similar to this and that is really where I found out about the struggles of having an addiction and mental illnesses in a world where society doesn't accept it and often doesn't provide support. I really do enjoy working at this location because it is real, a lot of the staff are going through recovery or have been homeless as well and so its a place where there is a true sense of community and support from people who have been through similar experiences and I have appreciated my time here.