Mary, who is now aged 20, had a difficult childhood and spent a few months in care when she was 14 years old after running away several times.
Mary left home aged 17, after a particularly bad fight with her stepfather who has an alcohol problem. At first she stayed with an aunt, and then various friends. She moved in with an older boyfriend for a while and when she was living with him developed a heroin habit. They split up when he beat Mary up so badly that she was briefly hospitalised. She then approached the local authority for help and was placed in a homeless hostel, after completing a residential rehabilitation programme for heroin addiction. She is currently ‘clean’, but says it is very difficult to avoid using again when “surrounded by users” in the hostel.
Though Mary has never been to prison, she has been convicted of shoplifting several times, which she says she did to support her drug habit and that of her ex-boyfriend. She has a history of self-harm and has attempted suicide at least once. She is still afraid of her ex-boyfriend, though he hasn’t tried to contact her for a while.
