Independent Living

I feel like this is a really life-changing opportunity to have independence. To me, independence means you need to start doing things on your own. It makes life more mature and happier, and I'm more interested in more fun and exciting things. What does independence mean to you? Independence, for me, and working with young people means being able to live your life the way you want, to be able to make decisions, to make informed decisions, and to be able to make mistakes and learn from them. What is your support like? Our support is very person-centered. It's very much tailored around each individual we support. If they're like dutifully, then they step back a bit and let me do it. If I'm doing something, they let me do it, but they check in to make sure I'm doing it right, politely encouraging me to do stuff myself. For example, last week, Sarah went to bowling for the first time. She walked there on her own. I got a text message from her saying, "I'm here safe." So I texted back saying, "Fab! Have a lovely evening. I'll see you at quarter to nine." Then there’s Tom, who’s coming in new and watching him for the first time, making his dinner, putting it in the oven. I know it sounds silly, but making his dinner and putting it in the oven without us there—he didn’t need us watching. Tom is now going off to his farm independently; he is now working there independently without us. It's the little things that lead to the bigger things. It's not about treating everybody the same. I think that's an incorrect belief some people hold. It's about treating everybody as an individual and making sure that we raise the playing field for everybody so that they have access to the same opportunities. Gardening Course: I do math and English, and I do a gardening course. There we grow a variety of bench flowers, potatoes, and leeks. Integration: We're seeing a shift to mainstream colleges working with our young people on a local offer a lot more, which enables the young people to access their local facilities, which is what should happen. That means more integration. Opportunities: What we really wanted to do during this time was to maximize opportunities for young people going through transition to access mainstream college, to develop independent living skills. That means managing a tenancy, looking after pets, or also setting up their own micro businesses or small social enterprises like Thomas, who appears to be in a bird box enterprise. So it's always about looking for opportunities for people to progress towards independence and to also be included, whether that's in their community or at college. I'm an adult now. I've grown more confidence in myself to go outside and do things on my own. I feel like I've progressed and succeeded in something. To me, loyalty is kindness, honesty, laughter, generosity, and friendship. Those six things are really important, and they also make me really happy.