Steven lives in his own flat, Robinia has helped Steven to start a new life after having lived in different hostels and getting into trouble because he wasn't getting the support he needed. Now Robinia have given Steven the right support he needs and he is more independent, settled and has a positive outlook on life. Steven says: "I was going no where, I was getting kicked out of hostels, not doing anything with my life and now I have come here and I have come a long way. The staff here are really helpful and supportive, I have never had any problems with them.”
Alistair moved to Robinia when he was 18, since then he has made a lot of progress. He enjoys using the resource centre with the use of the gym, swimming pool and trampoline.
Nicky Thermal (Parent) says: No place is ever going to completely perfect but I’m happy that with Robinia we have found the best place we can imagine to offer Alistair a good quality of life. He is so settled and is making progress every time we see him. He seems calm and happy”
Mark enjoys growing his own vegetables in his garden and learning about the different types of plants. He says: I have got a greenhouse where I have tomato plants, carrots and lots of other vegetables.’
Mark is very independent and lives life as he wants, he has his own key to his home and comes and goes as he pleases.
He has a job working for scope. Marks hobby is collecting Lego and he builds amazing models and buildings with several floors, pillars and figures, some models are so big that they take up most of his bedroom!
"I enjoy living here, this place is my home, I have my own key. I take very day as it comes and I look forward to my new future here”
Suzie is very independent and really enjoys living where she is. Suzie enjoys her job working in a flower shop every morning. She also has a boyfriend who has his own place and she stays with him at weekends.
Suzie does her own housework like ironing, washing up and preparing meals.
Suzie has a great social life, she really enjoys dancing and acting and has even been in a play. She loves going to disco’s and seeing different bands. Sometimes, she even goes banger racing!
Michelle has Angelmans syndrome and mobility problems but that doesn’t stop her from getting where she wants to go. Since living at Hurstville Drive when it opened in January 2006, she has become more independent. Michelle helps with household chores and with preparing her own meals.
Andrew lives a very active life, he has a job doing a paper round and is also joined to a local snooker club where he has made lots of friends. He is a very sociable person and loves meeting people, telling jokes and making people laugh.
He also enjoys playing sports, bowling and reading, especially Harry Potter books.
Paul loves horses and has always wanted to work with horses. About a year ago, our Educational Co-ordinator managed to organise a job for Paul working at Scropton Riding Stables where he is responsible for grooming the horses, feeding them and leading the horses round. He really enjoys his job and it has boosted his confidence.
Paul also enjoys watching tv, playing computer games and he hopes that soon he will be able to move into his own flat.
John Troy, Jackie Pyne and Shaun Widdicombe live together in a Supported Living service in Christchurch, Dorset, it has 3 bedrooms and was opened in 2006.
John Troy
Since John moved out of a large residential care unit, his life has completely changed. Now he really enjoys living in his new home with his two housemates (Shaun and Jackie) in Christchurch and having control over what he does during the day and how he lives his life.
He now does all of his own cooking, housework and goes out on his own into the community. Within just a few months of living in his new home, John felt confident enough to go to the local travel agent with his support worker and book his dream holiday to Ibiza where he had a great time.
John and his two house mates now share one support worker, who assists them from 7am until 10pm every day, and another member of staff who sleeps overnight in case required.
John has found his current supported living arrangements much more to his liking and he looks forward to setting new goals on his individual outcomes programme in the future.
John really enjoys going clubbing and watching tv especially The X-Factor and Big Brother! He loves listening to music, going on holidays abroad, cooking, shopping, eating out, going to pop concerts, nights out at pubs and clubs and general socialising with his friends.
Shaun Widdicombe
Since moving into his new home in August 2006, Shaun has felt very happy and settled living here and his social skills has improved greatly over the last year. Shaun enjoys swimming and most sports; he loves cars, 80’s music, jigsaw puzzles, cooking and anything to do with Scooby Doo!
Shaun goes to a local college 3 days a week where he is studying a ‘Choices for Life’ Course to help improve his independence skills.
Jackie Pyne
Jackie moved into her new home in August 2006. Jacqui enjoys going out for meals, going to the theatre, cinema, watching tv, films and listening to the radio. Jackie loves shopping, cooking and having aromatherapy massages!
Jackie attends a college class twice a week for an art and pottery course. She has become much more confident since living in her home and she had her first one to one holiday in June 2007 in Somerset where she had lots of fun.
Steve has been using Robinia’s Community Day Services since 2003. Steve is a 24 and can be very shy but he enjoys the support of his staff who bring him out of himself.
Steve enjoys playing pool, watching DVDs, playing computer games. He loves shopping, his favourite types of shops are music and charity shops. He goes to college 3 days a week, Monday is learning about Birmingham, Wednesday is music and Thursday is literacy. He enjoys going bowling every Wednesday morning after college.
Jamie and Shaun have been doing voluntary work on a conservation farm in Leeds since June 2006, some of the jobs they do are mowing, feeding birds and dead hedging. They enjoy working together as a team and meeting new friends.
Shaun says "I like meeting new friends; we are polite, friendly and kind to each other. I feel really proud of myself for all of the work I have put in, I enjoy it a lot, I love coming here.”
