When I came to Lavender Fields in October 2006 I lacked confidence,
so I found it hard to do simple tasks on my own; I found it hard to make decisions.
The last two years living here have helped me build my confidence, although I still find
some things hard. Lavender Fields has helped me become more self-reliant, I am now at a
mainstream college doing a course in Information Technology. Before I came here I didn't
believe I could manage a mainstream course.
Over the last few months I have been practicing with with my powered wheelchair
to build my confidence; I am now happy to use my wheelchair to go out without staff support.
I live here with up to nine other service users. The purpose of Lavender
Fields is to prepare us for moving on in life, so the staff will support us in everyday
activities such as doing our laundry or preparing our own food. We are encouraged to go out as
much as possible so that we get a feel for everyday life.
On a typical week day we usually go to college; that's one of the rules for
living here and also we would get very bored if we had nothing to do. We all meet up for a meal
together at Lavender Fields, when we get back in the evening.
The weekends are nice because we all get a lie-in and we get to spend quality
time together, having nice conversations as people aren't rushing to get ready for college. We
try to go out in small groups at weekends, maybe to visit pubs, restaurants, cafes and shops.
This helps build our knowledge of the local area and social experiences. The staff and service
users are really nice which makes it really easy to live here.
I've still got five years here (we have to move on by the time we are 25). I don't
know what I want to do in the future, but what I have learnt and expect to learn here will help me
in future life.
