Choice Support shares celebratory stories from the people they support

As we round off our #CelebratingSocialCare campaign we’re hearing from people who draw on care and support about the impact this has on their lives. Choice Support rounded up stories from the people they support.

Choice Support supports autistic people, and people with a learning disability and/or mental health needs.

They’ve been rounding up positive stories from the people who they support about the impact that drawing on care and support has in allowing them to live their lives and do the things they love. As we round off our #CelebratingSocialCare campaign they shared these stories with us.

These are some of the great experiences that the people they support had to share.

Supporting with building relationships

Mark and Neval met over 10 years ago at a day service for people with a learning disability and formed a close friendship. Neval was living alone and often felt lonely, while Mark was also living alone following the death of his first wife.

Their friendship developed into a romance, but because they lived far from each other and Neval doesn’t travel alone they weren’t able to see each other as much as they’d like which meant their relationship couldn’t progress in the way they wanted.

And so Neval decided to move in with Mark in his flat, something which her support staff worked hard to aid with – providing both practical and emotional support during the moving process.

Choice Support are also on-hand to offer Neval any support required related to her relationship and offer relationship training for everyone who they support and their staff.

Now 10 years later Neval and Mark are still happily living together and say it was one of the best decisions they ever made.

Supporting with making healthy choices

Anthony was advised by his GP to aim to lose some weight to support his health, and with the support of his care and support staff he’s achieved this.

Anthony says:

Keeping active has also been important for Anthony, and now he’s achieved a healthy weight goal. He says:

With an adventurous spirit, Anthony is now hoping to extend his active adventures to swimming with sharks and skydiving. He says:

Supporting with finding a place to call home

Kathy, now in her fifties, was admitted to a hospital facility aged 13 where she lived for many years. The conditions she lived in here during the 1980s, a time when the autistic spectrum was not as widely understood, have been described as ‘harsh’.

Following her discharge from hospital she was moved to a community group care home, something which she didn’t have a say in, and which involved her living with people she didn’t get along with whose tastes and needs were different from hers.

This led to Kathy being upset and causing noise and property damage in the home, which may have led to her being admitted back to a hospital.

Now, with the help of Choice Support, Kathy has learned new ways to communicate and explain what she wants and needs - which includes living alone. She now rents her own flat in London. Having the right place to live with the right support has helped Kathy take more control over her own life. She makes the decisions about what happens in her own home, what she does and who she is supported by.

Supporting with developing a career

Shiu-Ming draws on support from Choice Support which has helped him in achieving his career goals.

He’s currently in a paid role as a business trainee and is continuing to work on developing his career to the next level.

While looking for his current role Choice Support’s Employment Service Co-ordinator assisted with the application process by doing practice interviews and arranging pre-interview visits with employers.

Choice Support is continuing to help Shiu-Ming develop his professional skills, for example recently running a public speaking course.

His long-term ambition is to help other people with a disability gain more motivation and self-esteem.

He says:

Read all these stories in full plus more positive stories on the Choice Support website.

Find more inspiring and positive stories from the social care sector with our #CelebratingSocialCare spotlight.

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