WHAT OTHER SUPPORT AND ACTIVITIES DO WE OFFER?

Training in Independent Living Skills - this includes cooking; food hygiene; healthy eating; managing your money ; safety in the home; crime prevention; household hints and tips on cleaning and laundry  and a variety of other skills which give our service users the confidence and skills required to lead independent lives and advocate on their own behalf, all of which will enhance their quality of life and contribute to their successful inclusion in the local community.

                                                                                                                                                              Cooking lunch at the Project

Health & Wellbeing Activities - outdoor activities including walking and cycling and indoor activities in the fitness suite of a local leisure centre which includes the use of fitness equipment; swimming; badminton and other group activities. The indoor activities are accessed through the LIve Active Scheme which enables service users to make use of the local leisure centre free of charge. We try to vary the programmeof activities to suit the needs of service users and are always happy to try new activities that will help to improve fitness, as the picture of a lively dance session below demonstrates. All of these activities are designed to improve the health and fitness of our service users                             

           A bracing walk on the beach                                                                                                    A lively dance session                                     

Workshops - over the past year workshops have included assertiveness training; training in handling conflict; creative art; music; reading; computer skills; dry stone walling; plant identification; garden tool maintenance; tool safety; safety in the garden; bicycle maintenance and welfare rights. All of our workshops are driven by the needs of our service users and therefore change periodically to meet the needs of those on the programme at any given time. 

                A dry stone walling course                                                                                                     A reading workshop

Work Experience Placements- we arrange work experience placements for our service users when they are ready to progress to the world of work. We then provide support to them in the work place until they have settled in and are comfortable with their placement. They can then contact us on an ad hoc basis if they require additional support.

Social,  Leisure and Cultural Activities - these are seen as an important part of personal development as they give service users the opportunity to participate in experiences that are new to them, socialise with others from a variety of backgrounds and  generally improve their interpersonal skills. Activities this year have included barbecues; bowling; museum visits; ceramic painting; a visit to Heartland Radio where they made a CD of their favourite music; a two day youth hostel trip to Aviemore and various other day trips to social and cultural events. 

                                                                   
                      Grass sledging                                                                                                           Having a go at ceramics painting

Emotional and Practical Support  -  counselling is available to all service users either on a planned or drop-in basis. Each service user has a key worker who monitors their progress and assists them with goal setting as well as providing advice, guidance and practical support to those wishing to progress into employment or Further Education opportunities. Advice is also provided on issues and concerns such as letter writing, completion of forms, making appointments, housing issues etc. We also signpost our service users to other agencies that can better address specific issues.