Greg Hart has been appreciating support from centred for around 4-5 years and shares his story on recovery.
My name is Greg Hart a centred service user.
I first engaged with centred when I was being discharged from Aonach Mhor, the rehab unit in Merkinch.
The Aonach Mhor help was extensive including: 2-1 Patient to staff ratio, £30 a week shopping allowance, complimentary food such as hot drinks, butter, milk, cereals etc – plenty for everyone to enjoy.
At Aonach Mhor there was a team of cars for trips to supermarkets, Tai Chi, nature walks. Being discharged was difficult as I went from a plethora of support to a sense of loss.
Fortunately that’s where centred came in to help.
I was allocated 10 hours with centred – 5 x 2 sessions per week. It doesn’t sound like much but it was a lifesaver.
– Someone to talk to
– Honest encouragement
– Help with visits to banks
– Help with finances
– Highland Council service point visits
– Personal encouragement
– Doing – what I’d like to do
– Housework help
– Gardening support
– Food shopping support & menu planning
As its 5x days per week, most of the week, it created structure and things to look forward to doing. The difference between centred and Aonach Mhor is that I was treated like a healthy person- instead of a NHS patient.
The person centred support is what centred excell at. Treating people with dignity, no arguments, a can do attitude, getting the daily activities done.
I’ve gone from being told that I am incapable of work – to empowerment, a positive mindset and a sense of daily happiness.
OK – I have support workers and I don’t work, apart from volunteering in a social enterprise café – but I do have daily activities that I enjoy and the daytime possibilities are extensive.
Today my support worker helped me get a new Plus One card. This card is great – it gets me in to watch Caledonian Thistle for free with my friends next season.
Without a mortgage , you may think I’m missing out however I still find enough left over each month to help the foodbank charities.
With the weekly help from the lovely people of centred – life is good and certainly optimistic.