Ellen Taylor

Resident Full Name: Ellen Taylor
Resident Date of Birth: 15th November 1996
Resident Age: Fifteen
Resident Gender: Female
Current Address: 13 Weston Court
City/Town: Hackney
County/State: London
Country: England

Resident Hair Colour: Blonde. It's bleached though. Naturally it's brunette.
Resident Eye Colour: Blue
Resident Height: 5'3"
Resident Weight: 110 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: I have a few scars. There's a kn-, a scar on my stomach, there's a burn on the back of my hand, um, there's, um, one on my arm too. I have some piercings and stuff too. My ears, tongue and my belly button. And my nipples. And my nose, but that one rejected, I had to take it out. Travis paid for it all.

Representative: Thank you for meeting with me today. We will now begin the recorded interview. I will ask you a series of standard questions. Please try to answer them to the best of your ability. So, firstly, how are you feeling today?

Resident: I dunno. Lost I guess.

Representative: And what circumstances have led you to apply for residency at the Highgrove Home for Children?

Resident: I ain't got nowhere else to go. Nowhere else wants me. I can't even go back to Travis. I mean, he bought me this, but he's done some really bad shit, I think he's in prison now.

Observation: Ellen fiddles with a 'gold' necklace as she speaks.

Representative: Do you have any medical conditions we should be aware of? If so, please explain.

Resident: Um, I don't think so; I mean, I was on smack for a while, but I'm clean now.

Representative: Have you ever been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness? If yes, have you ever been hospitalised or sent to a special care facility for these illnesses?

Resident: I guess. I was in hospital for about a month this year. They said I had, um, PTSD, and, um, depression. I was in for hurting myself. That's where the scar on my arm came from. They said I have an alcohol problem too, but I dunno if that counts? I was on smack for a few months last year too, but they sent me to rehab after I got nicked, and I've been clean since then.

Representative: How does your current state of mind affect your day to day life? Are there any incidences of note which you feel are a direct result of your state of mind, such as suicide attempts, arrests, hospitalisations, et cetera?

Resident: I dunno. I guess I drink and smoke a lot every day, so my state of mind if a bit fucked up? Then there's Travis. I loved him, but, people always said he was a bad guy. It was just because he hit me, but he always bought me something after. He only hit me in the face once. He used to put his hands round me throat and stuff though, but I deserved it. He got angry with me when I did stupid shit, or when I got arrested, stuff like that. I dunno if that's my state of mind though. I guess, once, I cut my wrist. That was after Travis had got his mates round, and I'd seen them pay him. It wasn't the first time they'd been round, but I never knew he was pimping me out before that. I dunno, that just made me feel really cheap. After I'd done it he didn't even call help. He fucked me before he did that. he was always doing that; never asked, just did it. I was twelve when he started it, but he wasn't the first. Um, sorry, what was the question again?

Representative: have you ever harmed yourself, others, or animals? If yes, please explain.

Resident: Yeah. I cut myself once. In March. I was in hospital for about a month after that. It was after I'd seen Travis, my fiancé, getting paid by his mates after they'd just fucked me.

Representative: We understand you are having trouble at your current place of residence. Could you please describe the problems you are having, and the results or repercussions that have come about because of them?

Resident: Yeah. I'm in foster care. My forth foster home since I got out of hospital. They keep trying to control what I do, and that just reminds me of what Travis used to do to me. I have panic attacks sometimes, or I lash out, or I run away and go lose myself at the bottom of a bottle, or I go smoke joints till I forget what I'm so fucking stressed about. In this home they don't hit me, or touch me, or any of that shit, but they'll yell, they try to control me, and they've called the pigs on me twice. Once for stealing money from them, and once for being drunk and threatening to kill myself.

Representative: What five words would you use to best describe yourself?

Resident: I don't even know anymore

Representative: Do you have many friends? Could you describe your relationships and where you met these friends?

Resident: Not anymore. Not since Travis. I met him in care; he was my foster brother for a couple of weeks. That was a bad home. They locked me and him in a room together for the nights, and he basically just pressured me into having sex with him. A lot. I never cried rape or anything, but I never exactly gave consent. he gave me stuff though, jewellery, booze, fags, weed, stuff like that. We got out of there, and they split us up, but we stayed in the same city and shit, so it wasn't hard for us to stay together. He was sixteen when we met, and we were together for two years. he's in prison now, I think.

Representative: How would you describe your relationship with your biological family? Did you spend much time with them? Do you have any siblings?

Resident: Is this a joke? my mum's on the game. I don't know who my dad is. There are a shitload of pictures of me on the internet. The ones she's not in, she took. You fucking work it out.

Representative: Are you sexually active? If yes, are you aware of any sexual preferences regarding gender or situation?

Resident: Yes. I prefer guys, but I've had threesomes once or twice and I kinda enjoyed them I guess.

Representative: Where did you grow up, and what was it like there? How do you feel about where you grew up?

Resident: I grew up in Birmingham. It was a shithole. I hated it. I was moved to London when I was Twelve, after mum got nicked for what she did. Hated that too, except for Travis.

Representative: How is school? What are your grades like, and do you enjoy it? Do you participate in any after-school activities?

Resident: I haven't gone to school properly in years. Only subject I ever didn't fail was Art. I guess I was alright at Drama too, but fuck it, it's not like I need that shit.

Representative: What do you hope to find at the Highgrove Home, and how do you feel about potentially becoming a resident there?

Resident: I dunno. I guess I'll have a roof over my head? It's just another care home though. It'll be shit.

Representative: Lastly, how do you feel about what you have done so far with you life, looking back on it. If you have done unacceptable things, how do you now feel about those?

Resident: Sometimes, I wish no-one had helped me when I cut myself. Sometimes, I wish I was still with Travis, and sometimes, I wish I was never born. I guess it depends on my mood, and on how shit my day has been. Mostly though, I just hate myself.


Is there anything your character isn't telling us? Do you have more information to add about your character that they would not tell the representative about? Please explain below:

Ellen's life has never been a pleasant one. As she states, her mother was one of Birmingham's sex workers, and quickly realised the daughter she never wanted was a ticket to some quick money, and a lot of drugs. It started when she was five, with photographs, rapidly moved on to abuse, both by her mother and by paying customers, even going as far as rape by the time she was nine. It wasn't until she was eleven that her abuse was discovered though, when a cache of pictures of her was found on the computer of a local man being investigated on paedophilia charges. Images of her had turned up before, but hadn't been able to be linked until then. A police raid in the early hours of the morning was the last time she saw her mother, and she's glad of it. That's not to say she has any respect for the law though. not after how long it took them to 'save' her.

Once the court cases were over with, Ellen was moved to London, to try and keep her away from anyone who might try to find her for more of the same. She was in a group home for a few weeks, an unremarkable place really, just somewhere to put her while she was enrolled in school and registered with a local councillor, doctors etc. After that, she was bumped into a foster home, with Travis. They were the only two foster kids the family had, and after bad experiences with previous children stealing things, they were kept confined to their room at night, with no regard to the inevitable results of locking a sadistic and violent boy in with a vulnerable young girl. Their relationship began with Travis pressuring Ellen into sex, promising he'd look after her in exchange, and only went downhill from there.

Her foster homes were unremarkable after that, the worst she had was a foster brother who had a habit of walking in on her when she was in the shower. What did the damage was the way she split her time between them and Travis, wherever he might be living. By the time he managed to land himself a one bedroom council flat, she was utterly enthralled by him, and moved right in with him. It was there that he got her taking heroin, as another method of control, but he made her pay for it. She couldn't afford to, and turned to shoplifting, but was caught while trying to walk out of asda with a bottle of scotch, fined and placed in rehab. That did get her out of the house with the brother who walked in on her all the time though.

After she got out of rehab, she never bothered with her third foster home, instead moving straight back in with Travis, who'd turned more violent than before. he used violence and intimidation to control her, didn't let her out of his sight most days, and this was when he started buying her presents to make up for the damage he was doing to her so often. it was also when she found herself as the entertainment when his friends piled round to his flat to watch the football on his mildly illegal satellite box. By now, she was drinking heavily, usually whatever she could shoplift, and scrounging what cannabis she could from Travis, to try and blot out as much of her life as she could.

She stayed with him until March, when she overheard one of his friends arguing with him about how much he had to pay after he'd slept with her. Confronting the friend, she found out this had been going on since she'd moved in with Travis six months previously. Travis didn't seem to care, he called her a slut and slapped her. her response was to open her wrist. Despite what she claims, Travis did call for help, but the police who turned up with the paramedics proceeded to arrest Travis on a selection of drug, robbery and assault charges, most of which he was convicted of. He got ten years in prison, Ellen got to spend a month in hospital, and afterwards, was sent to her current foster home; a place where she has no friends, no help and little hope. Right now, she considers it a good day if she can shoplift a bottle of some kind of alcohol and beg a packet of cigarettes from someone.

No-one is quite sure when Ellen's PTSD first manifested itself, given her life it's hard to pick one single event. She often wakes screaming from some nightmare or other, some involving Travis, others with his friends, or the men from her childhood. It isn't uncommon for her to imagine there to be someone else in her bed with her either, and she's usually too afraid to check. If voices are raised towards her, she has been known to re-experiance some of the assaults she's endured over the years, which has left her more than likely to just run before the yelling starts. Since Travis' arrest, she's done her best to avoid people and intimacy as much as possible, fearing she'll be hurt again, and again, and again.

Her drinking started as a distraction, just something to give her something to do, not long after she first met Travis. She was smoking by then, just cigarettes though, in an attempt to fit in and as the first of her coping mechanisms. the drink soon replaced them in that role, but she never stopped smoking, even moving on to cannabis on occasion, supplied by Travis through some of his older friends. The more she drank, the easier she was for him to control, he was quite happy to encourage her. He started her off on the heroin too, just for an extra bit of control, but after she got out of rehab, he didn't force that one again.

Character Playby: Cathrine Nörgaard
Player Nickname: Space
Chatango Username: Spacebutler
Preferred Chore Assignment Group: Household Chores

Resident Full Name: Ellen Taylor
Resident Age: 15
Resident Gender: Female
Known Diagnoses: C-PTSD, Substance Abuse, Major Depressive Disorder

Dormitory Number: 3
Bunk Number: 01 Bottom
Assigned Chores Group: Household Chores
Assigned Therapist: Dr. Sybil Penhurst

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