Jo is 34 and unemployed. She lives in private housing – a one-bedroom basement flat in an urban area, with her two children: Lily, aged 5, and Wes, aged 7.  The flat has some problems with dampness and has no garden.  Jo was brought up in care and fears social workers will try to take her children away so she tries to avoid contact with social services.  She has a long history of alcohol and drug abuse and has also suffered from depression.

Jo has persistent stomach complaints and her children have had impetigo and dental problems.  Jo has low levels of literacy and finds handling money problematic – her GP has given her foodbank tokens but she often finds herself and her children hungry.   Both her children suffer from asthma and the teacher at Wes’s school is concerned about his poor progress with regard to reading as his schooling has been disrupted by frequent absences related to hospital admissions.