Charlie is the latest person to have had their life transformed by our Reaching for Independence service – gaining confidence to take up a new pastime.
Reaching for Independence is for people aged 17 years and over, who have eligible or likely eligible social care needs, and supports people to become more independent in order to achieve their goals, such as living independently, taking part in social activities or starting paid employment, to lead a more fulfilling life.
Charlie, from Exmouth, got in touch with the service after feeling isolated, which was impacting their wellbeing. The Reaching for Independence team was able to provide travel training and help with accessing social activities.
Charlie says: “I went through Reaching for Independence, and Sharon came out and helped me find things to do.
“Sailability was one of them. I never thought I’d sail, but I feel good about it. It’s like it’s my time to breathe and to be able to go out and enjoy myself.”
Sharon Hurni, Community Enabler at Reaching for Independence, had previously worked with Charlie to find employment.
She says: “It was quite exciting that I’d got Charlie back. We were finding social activities in the community and we were looking at transport training as well, so it was two goals in one.
“We wanted to empower Charlie to gain the independence to get out there and have more of a social life. For the travel training, we downloaded the Stagecoach app and Charlie was then well away and is using it every day.
“When we talked about sailing, Charlie’s reaction was, ‘Yes, I would love to do that.’ But they’d never thought about doing it before.
“Charlie wasn’t socialising and had lost self-confidence but that has grown. It’s given Charlie a new lease of life and more independence, as well as gaining a social life where they’re meeting new friends. Charlie now goes out and does some shopping and travels independently to Sailability.
“That’s what our job is. We’re empowering people to believe in themselves, to move on in life, and hopefully one day move on to employment. I just want Charlie to follow their aspirations and dreams because there’s so much out there.”
Exe Sailing Club’s Sailability project was formed in 2007 and it has become an integral part of the club, currently offering 25 sessions a week run by more than 100 volunteers. This year has seen a record intake of 665 sailors through Sailability.
Nick Webber, from Exe Sailing Club, says: “We’ve seen good progress of sailors coming through Sailability and last year we took delivery of our second Hawk 20ft day boat because of the increased demand.
“For our sailors it’s good for confidence and wellbeing and it’s a good social activity where they get to know other people.
“We’ve seen Charlie build a lot of confidence and there’s good potential to progress further. I’m encouraging Charlie to join the winter training programme to get a good foundation on the theory side of things and put that into practice when we start the sailing season in April.
“We’d like to think that Charlie and others will eventually become members of the club and play a part in club activities.”
Charlie adds: “It’s made a big difference. I’m not just stuck inside and stuck in a shell, if that makes sense. I’m getting out more and I feel like I’m able to be myself. The best bit about coming out on the boats is seeing the seals. They just look so graceful just sat on the sandbank.
“It was more the confidence I needed through doing sailing. I could see myself doing some sort of sea work in my near future. My ambition is to get a job, but also to be able to sail a lot more.
“I would definitely say to give Reaching for Independence a try. Even if it doesn’t really work for you, you can try. They’ve given me opportunities that I never thought that I’d be able to do.”
Councillor Richard Keeling, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, says:
“The work of our Reaching for Independence service is invaluable and it’s great to see how it has helped Charlie’s self-confidence. With some travel training and a bit of help finding an activity, Charlie has been able to discover a passion for sailing. Gaining the independence to attend Sailability has made that possible, and the social and wellbeing benefits offered by Sailability will help Charlie to continue to develop new skills and lead a fulfilling life.”
For more information about Reaching for Independence visit our webpages or call 0345 1551007. To find out more about Sailability visit the Exe Sailing Club website.