Gary is a young man with hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and a mild learning disability.
He has attended several of Autonomie projects and is currently in his final year of our SAIL (Social & Independent Living) project.
Gary has had a lot of changes in his life, and he has used these to support other young people as a Volunteer.
He always encourages the other young people to try hard at the tasks and activities within the programmes.
Conor is a young man who has multiple disabilities and allied health issues.
He is deaf, has cerebral palsy, Type 1 Diabetes and a mild learning disability.
Conor joined Autonomie in 2019 as a participant in the What Next? project and has now progressed to a Volunteer.
Conor travels independently every day (17 miles) to Autonomie, where he supports current participants and also delivers some awareness sessions e.g., BSL, Disability Awareness and he talks openly about being more independent.
Niamh is a young woman with Ataxic Cerebral Palsy which affects her balance, speech, and fine motor control; she has limited communication and has a mild learning disability.
Niamh joined Autonomie after finishing her full-time education within an SEN school, and having completed 3 programmes, and her John Muir Award she progressed to a volunteer who provides peer support and motivation to the current participants.
Niamh has been a Volunteer at Autonomie for 2 years.
Autonomie’s Freedom2Choose Team Leader Emma Cockcroft is gearing up run a leg of the Belfast City Marathon on Sunday 3rd of October in a fundraising challenge to raise funds for Autonomie with the funds directly benefiting 16 - 30 year olds with additional needs.
In her first ever blog, Emma explains in her own words what motivated her to organise and relay team and take part herself in the marathon relay.
Emma says: “Autonomie is an amazing Charity to be involved with, the work they do literally changes peoples lives.
“Seeing first hand how much support the organisation gives to the young people and families just shows how much the charity means to all the staff and volunteers involved.
As Autonomie is a charity-based organisation - I know the importance of fundraising and the difference any money can make so this has given me the drive to get myself fit and encourage my friends and family to donate.”
We wish Emma and all 5 Team Autonomie Relay Team members a fantastic run on Sunday 3rd October.
Nicole Hammond, Youth Development Officer at Autonomie SAIL (Social and Independent Living) pilot project is fundraising for Autonomie by taking up the challenge of running a leg of the Belfast City Marathon on Sunday 3 October.
As part of Team Autonomie’s Relay Team, Nicole along with her running mates (Hannah Glasgow, Peter Quinn, Stephen Cockcroft and Emma Cockcroft) are gearing up to take on the 26.2 mile challenge to raise funds for us - helping make a real difference to the lives of young people with additional needs and families in Northern Ireland.
In her latest blog, Nicole explains what has motivated her to take on the fundraising challenge, how important Autonomie’s work is and what she is looking to most about the event.
“I am running the Belfast Marathon on Sunday 3rd October to raise money for Autonomie to say a personal thank you for providing me with an opportunity to enhance my personal development and for the continuous support which I have received since I was a student at placement to my current role as Youth Development Officer.
“The support has been endless, and I have been provided with opportunities I would not have received elsewhere.
“The young people who I work with in SAIL and Freedom2Choose programme are amazing and are continuously developing their social and independent livingskills, achieving their full potential, and growing as individuals.
“But most of all they make going to work FUN and ENJOYABLE.
“As well as raising money for Autonomie, it will help raise awareness of the amazing services which they are providing.
“On Marathon Day hundreds of people will see me and my team members wearing our Autonomie logo with pride, and everyone who has sponsored us has learned more about the charity and the great work it does via our fundraising page.
“Training for the marathon has helped me get out and get active, it has given me the boost which I needed to start running and I will continue to run each week when the Marathon is completed.
“This is my opportunity to give something back and show Autonomie how much Iappreciate the help and support it has provided me.”
Good luck to Nicole and the team, we are all behind you and are super excited to cheer you on as you pound the streets on Sunday for Autonomie.
A. SAIL is an abbreviation for Social and Independent Living. SAIL will provide young people with complex, additional needs with an interactive, fun, learning experience to help them develop self-confidence, self-awareness and provide emotional and practical support during transition between adolescence and adulthood.
SAIL offers participants an opportunity to develop, or improve, basic independent living skills, social skills and empower them to live more independent and confident lives within their community.
The programme will run in 8 council areas (identified below) over the three-year period. Each programme will last 6 months and is FREE of Charge.
Council areas which will be covered:
Ards and North down
Antrim and Newtonabbey
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon
Lisburn and Castlereagh
Mid and East Antrim
Newry Mourne and Down
Mid Ulster
A. The SAIL programme will provide young people with an opportunity to develop or improve their basic independent living skills, social skills, qualifications and will enable young people to live more independent and confident lives. It will provide an opportunity for natural peer interaction with other young people and will help to reduce social isolation for young people with disabilities. More so now than ever due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
One issue SAIL will tackle.
A. It is extremely important as many young people aged between 16-30 years old with allied conditions have limited options once they leave school as there is a lack of age-appropriate facilities open to young people with additional needs outside of Greater Belfast.
Young people should be socialising with other young people of a similar age to themselves and taking part in activities which are age appropriate, fun and engaging to support young people’s continuous development.
The SAIL programme will help these young people develop social networks within their own communities with peers, and other young people who face similar challenges within their lives. It will better prepare them for living independently/ semi-independently as they and their parents get older. Most of all, this programme will breakdown barriers for those who are at risk of or who are already socially isolated at home after leaving school and due to personal circumstances do not attend other services.
A. I studied BA (Hons) Youth and Community Work at University of Cumbria in Lancaster and a part of my course was to complete a placement. As this was a block placement, I decide to complete my placement at home (Belfast). I wanted to experience youth work within a range of different settings and organisations to help me outline which area I would like to work within in the future.
I had already experienced several settings. For example, a homeless shelter, youth club and outreach/detached work. I decided that I wanted to experience working with young people with disabilities in a youth work capacity. I believe this idea articulated from supporting a family member in a caring capacity who has a disability from I was 16 years old. I felt that I would like to connect my passion for supporting young people with disabilities in line with my passion for youth work. This is when I came across Autonomie.
Autonomie kindly accepted me on placement for a few months and during this time, I developed relationships with young people and developed my passion for working with young people with disabilities. I knew after a few weeks into my placement that this was the area which I wanted to work within once I graduated as it felt rewarding, and I knew the impact in which my role was having on these young people. I enjoyed so much that it did not feel like a job. Watching the distance which each individual young person has travelled in terms of their own personal development and soft outcomes has been amazing over the last year a half whilst working at Autonomie. It has provided me motivation to continue the work in which I have been doing.
Each young person is entitled to socialise with their friends, access services, have their voices herd and have FUN! I want to provide this for all young people specifically those with disabilities and prevent young people with disabilities ‘slipping through the cracks’ or being ‘forgot about’.
· Do your research. Do not solve the problems that don’t need to be resolved.
· If plan “A” didn’t work. The alphabet has 25 other letters. – Not every session will go as planned. Therefore, you need to be flexible and be prepared with a backup plan.
· Use a range of facilitation styles and consider each young person’s individual needs when planning and facilitating the programme.
· A lot of things will get delayed. getting the right team in place, recruiting young people, planning the programme, meetings. Your lunch breaks. That is just how this world is. So be patient but keep track of the direction!
· Working together as a team is extremely important during all aspects of the programme. Planning, facilitating, and evaluating.
· Consulting with young people and taking their feedback into consideration is crucial as the programme is for them. Therefore, it will help motivate them.
· Keep the programme fun, engaging and age appropriate for young people.
· It provides qualifications for young people.
· It is based on the social model of disability rather than the medical model.
· It will address young people’s needs where they are at.
· It will target a wider range of young people as it will be running in 8 different council areas to support the issues regarding transport.
· It is filling a gap in services which are not currently available.
A. OCN Qualifications – Further young people’s education and employability skills
John Moore Award – Supports with employment opportunities.
Residential stays – Independent Living (Covid-19 depending)
Social Opportunities – Trips to coffee shop, walks around the local community, playing games, discussions, and free time etc. these activities will allow an opportunity for natural peer-interaction between young people and an opportunity for young to explore and connect with their local area.
Independent living opportunities – Making basic meals, learning how to budget and experience in housekeeping etc. these activities will provide young people with knowledge and understanding of how to live a more independent life.
A. SAIL is a fun, interactive and engaging way for your young person to develop their independent living skills and interact with young people of similar age. It will provide them with hands on experience and provide them with an opportunity to increase their confidence and self-esteem.
“As a parent I want my daughter to be as independent as possible and that’s what the SAIL programme is based around”
Sharon Quinn has recently joined Autonomie as Co-Ordinator for the Family Voice Hub. Many in the Autonomie family will already know Sharon as she is the mother of one of our young people, Niamh, and is a regular face at our events.
Sharon’s personal experience gives her a great insight into the journey and challenges that families face when looking after a family member with additional needs.
Sharon joins us with a career spanning retail and hospitality. In all these roles she has been responsible for managing teams of varying sizes up to 35 and has successfully led teams through complex and challenging work that could only have been achieved through great teamwork.
Sharon will also bring to the role her personal experience of engaging with all the statutory bodies and government departments that impact upon the life of our young adults and their families such as how to navigate through the PIP process, engaging with social workers or applying for direct payments.
Outside of work Sharon is married to Peter and as well as Niamh has another daughter Erin who is currently on her placement year at University and a dog, Charlie.
Name: Niamh Quinn
Age: 22
Town/City you live: Belfast
Role at Autonomie: Freedom2choose Volunteer
Q1. How long have you been volunteering at Autonomie and how did you find out about Autonomie?
I am unsure how long I have been volunteering at Autonomie. However, I think it is near 2 years. I attend Autonomie as a young person and take part in the What Next? programme. I use my skills that I have learnt at What Next? when volunteering.
Q2. What does your role involve?
• Collecting money
• Offering people and making them juice
• Helping others
Q3. Why did you decide to volunteer?
I wanted to help others have a good experience.
Q4. What do you enjoy most about volunteering for Autonomie?
Getting young people their juice as it makes me feel good because I am helping others.
Q5. What makes Autonomie special in your view?
The relationships between staff, volunteers and young people.
Q6. What would you say to encourage someone to volunteer for Autonomie?
It is great fun! You get to go on trips such as bowling, and watch others be happy.
As part of our Meet The Team series, each month you’ll meet our wonderful volunteers and staff who work hard to deliver practical programmes supporting young people with additional needs in Belfast and surrounding areas.
This month meet Aisling Skillen
Age: 25
Town/City you live: Belfast
Role at Autonomie: Freedom2choose Volunteer
Q1. How long have you been volunteering at Autonomie and how did you find out about Autonomie?
Unsure.
Q2. What does your role involve?
• Collecting money
• Offering people and making them juice, tea and coffee
• Talk to young people and make sure that they are okay
• Help others if they need it
Q3. Why did you decide to volunteer?
To get me out of the house and help me gain new skills.
Q4. What do you enjoy most about volunteering for Autonomie?
• I enjoying helping others.
Aishling helped lead the recent shoebox appeal for the homeless in our local community.
Q5. What makes Autonomie special in your view?
• It is FUN!
• Good for making new friends
• It is a cyber free zone so everyone is involved.
Q6. What would you say to encourage someone to volunteer for Autonomie?
• It is a great experience
• Opportunity to get your Millennium Volunteering Certificates to put on your CV.
Volunteer Gary Burns also stated ‘without Autonomie I would be trapped in my room all day everyday.’ Aisling agreed with Gary and Said ‘me too’.
As part of our new Meet The Team series, you’ll meet members of our team who work hard to deliver practical programmes supporting young people with additional needs in Belfast and surrounding areas.
To kick of the Q&A series, meet Gary!
“Without Autonomie I would be trapped in my room all day everyday.” -Gary Burns
Gary Burns
Freedom2Choose Volunteer
Age: 26
Town/City you live: Belfast
Q1. How long have you been volunteering at Autonomie and how did you find out about Autonomie?
2/3 years.
Q2. What does your role involve?
• Collecting money
• Offering people and making them juice, tea and coffee
• Peer Mentor for new young people who join the group to help them settle in.
• “Empower young people to live richer and fuller lives and be free of the parents for a few hours.”
Q3. Why did you decide to volunteer?
I wanted to give something back to the world which gave to me.
Q4. What do you enjoy most about volunteering for Autonomie?
• Collecting in the money. It is an opportunity for me to work on my money management skills that I have learnt at What Next?
• It gets me out of my bedroom.
• Looking after everyone as I get great satisfaction out of it and motivation which keeps me going.
Q5. What makes Autonomie special in your view?
• The opportunity to support one another to get a task complete.
• Happy staff members.
Q6. What would you say to encourage someone to volunteer for Autonomie?
• If you are up for it, we do boys and girls nights with a chance to sleep over and try independent living experience.
• Great opportunity to help young people build friendships social skills and independent living skills.
• Mate, there is this great volunteering opportunity in a place called Autonomie and I’d advise you give them a call because it is the best experience you will ever have.
Young people with additional needs who take part in What Next? project get a chance to learn independent living skills, important skills like convenient cookery and participants recently created their very own recipe books!
It's Pancake Day, so we've created an Easy Pancake Recipe you and your family can try at home.
Good mental health is the foundation of disabled young people’s growth, underpinning the development of confidence, independence and a sense of self worth.
We are proud to promote positive mental health in young people with additional needs. Our activity programmes deliver structured opportunities empowering young people by providing recreation and social space, skills development and supported events/activities independently of families and carers.
