Glenda’s story
Glenda* moved to Weir End House in November 2005. Before this she lived in a secure unit in Wales. Glenda has a diagnosis of mild to moderate learning disability with schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes. Glenda was able to move to our service due to changes in her medication which resulted in more stability with her behaviours and enabled her to move to a less secure service.
Glenda has achieved many things since her move to Weir End House and enjoys a number of activities. She is able to access the local and wider community and amenities on a daily basis and when out, with staff support, she is able to enjoy shopping trips. Staff have worked with Glenda so that she is able to have a good understanding of money in small quantities.
Glenda enjoys many day trips out including to the seaside and local points of interest, and is able to do this with one-to-one staff support or in small or large groups of her fellow residents. Glenda enjoys being in groups and is caring towards others. She encourages all of the other residents to join in with activities whether this is day trips or playing bingo in the evening at home.
One of Glenda’s passions is travelling and she often talks about going abroad to different countries. With support, Glenda has planned and booked a number of holidays including trips to Italy and Spain. During these holidays she immersed herself into local culture enjoying restaurants, shops and sight-seeing trips.
Glenda manages her diabetes through her diet, she is very mindful of this even when helping prepare meals in the kitchen. She enjoys cooking a variety of meals including curries which everyone comments positively on. Glenda also likes to help with household tasks and enjoys being supported to do her laundry and helping out with dusting and cleaning around the house.
Moving to Weir End House has enabled Glenda to flourish and live a fulfilling life filled with the things she chooses to do and achieve, which would not have been possible at her previous home.
Sophie’s story
Sophie* has lived at Woodpecker Lodge since July 2004 and has a diagnosis of a mild learning disability.
Since moving to Woodpecker Lodge, Sophie has achieved many milestones. She has a number of voluntary work placements which she attends independently and currently volunteers at a local nursery group where she helps care for and support young children. Due to Sophie’s caring nature she excels in this setting.
Sophie also helps out at a charity bookshop where she has many responsibilities including interacting with the customers, closing up the shop at the end of the day and dealing with money. Sophie volunteers at two other charity shops, Oxfam and Dog’s Trust.
Sophie is also a member of the regional Priory Adult Care Your Voice committee, this requires her to attend a meeting once every three months. These meetings are held at different venues including other Priory Adult Care services and the Worcester head office. This has allowed Sophie to build a good rapport with staff at the Worcester office, so much so, they invited her to be involved with the interviewing process in regards to recruiting senior managers within Priory. She has also held a regional Your Voice meeting at Woodpecker Lodge, planned the whole meeting and baked cakes for her guests.
Within her home, Sophie likes to be involved in all aspects, she especially enjoys cooking and baking. She can often be found helping in the kitchen being supported by staff and helping with household tasks. Sophie accesses many activities either with staff support, independently or with her friends. These activities include catching buses, going to the cinema and swimming.
Sophie’s support staff have a great understanding of the support that she requires and this enables Sophie to be able to achieve her goals and wishes.
*Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.