Thriving at Livability’s new service

Ashley Williams

18/06/21

How we support people with learning disabilities at our newest service, Livability Conwy, based in Wrexham.

For Learning Disabilities Week 2021 we are focusing on the support offered in Wrexham. Greater independence, confidence and sheer fun is what Livability’s staff have been working towards with the young women they are supporting. Three of the women are in their 20s, with one older resident. In the first few weeks, acting service delivery lead Kay Mills has seen the people she supports move forward in independent living.

‘Katie* is very able but needs encouragement to build her confidence,’ says Kay. ‘We started with simple things like showing Katie how to charge her phone, instead of doing it for her. It can be making adaptations, like an adapted kettle for another resident who’s dyspraxic. It builds confidence when people realise they can live without constant input.’

Kay describes another resident, Michelle*, as ‘a thrill seeker – she loves rock climbing, skiing, dancing so we’re working towards having fun with things like that. She’s on the autistic spectrum and non-verbal and is a ray of sunshine, always smiling and dancing.’

Personalised support

Livability plans to modernise the house to make it more contemporary for the young household, and has taken care to recruit younger enabling support workers ‘who share the interests of the people they are supporting’, says Kay. The charity is raising funds to create a sensory garden at the four-bedroom house, where residents can grow vegetables as well as flowers. Staff have accessed iPads and smartphones for the household via a council scheme, which is a new source of entertainment at the service.

Supporting growth and development

‘We put a lot of time and effort into making the transition from the previous care provider as smooth as we could for the women at this service,’ says area manager Tina James, Livability Conwy. ‘We sent packs with information, including profiles of the new staff, to all parents and people we support, and met them several times so everyone could ask questions and get to know the new staff. Wrexham council and parents say they’re very happy. The people we support there are full of energy and have lots of goals in life that we can help them to achieve. We want to enable them to grow and develop.’

Regional Director Jamie McClen commends the Livability Conwy team for their hard work and commitment to expanding the horizons of the people they support: “This team is doing a fantastic job and it’s great to see how their attitude and dedication is already enabling people to live a more independent life.”

*names changed

Read more about the services offered at Conwy.