A customers story - D

Before COVID-19 the centre was brilliant! Now, during the pandemic, it is really hard. As a single parent, everything is down to me.

The ZOOM sessions don’t fit in with all the things that need to be done at home, so D. hasn’t been able to join those. I am very grateful that now, and before the restrictions, D. was offered a place at Boyn Grove, he was going in 3 days a week which was OK.

Transport is a big issue for me, if I had to do the transport long term it would be too much. It is really important as it makes life easier and if transport is available, I think that more people would attend Boyn Grove or the activities in the community.

D. loves everything that the centre has to offer. Anything and everything you do in the day service is great. I understand now what the Questionnaire was about, it was a bit confusing as D. wouldn’t go swimming in Windsor, I understand that now. I think that all the links with the Community and people are great. I don’t think 1:1 support works very well as it is too isolating, it is important that D. is with his peers/ friends. It is really important that he has that social interaction, it suits him.

D. likes to be around people with similar interests. The key for him is variety. At the centres, I know that he is safe and the environment is secure so I don’t have to worry. It is fantastic the level of support we receive, and the staff understand his needs. I can relax knowing this.

Things that could be better? Links with the local schools so that they know what goes on in the centres and the community. I think that promoting the service to more people and continuing to build on the service is a good thing. Being more involved in the local community is great but you still need a base, a nucleus. The staff have always been flexible and maximise the resources well.

We don’t have any plans for D. to move on yet, and that is partly because we get so much support from the day service. (D. was using the day service 5 days a week pre COVID)