The Warwickshire Wellbeing Service is a bespoke, holistic service which aims to empower people who have learning disabilities and autism to live independent and happy lives.
Support from the service broadly focuses on five main areas: Emotional Wellbeing, Community Life, Employment Support, Physical Health and Home Life.
The service offers three principal routes of support people can access. One to one sessions, drop-in sessions, and regular group workshops.
The group workshops offer a supportive space where attendees are prompted to explore a variety of topics to support their overall wellbeing. Members of the group sessions are encouraged to lead their own sessions and activities for the group and contribute to a supportive environment.
A recent group session focussed on anxiety. The group were able to reflect on what anxiety was, what might trigger feelings of anxiety for each of them, what symptoms they might experience and how they might try to cope with anxiety and manage those feelings.
The discussion was open-hearted, with topics from going to the dentist to suffering a bereavement being raised. The group were clearly engaged by what each other had to say and were quick to offer words of support and encouragement. Spaces such as this are an invaluable dimension of preventative care, promoting mental wellbeing and providing opportunity for people with a learning disability to raise concerns they experience their day-to-day lives.
The group sessions also offer an important opportunity for members to form social networks and friendships. Several attendees at the workshop mentioned regularly calling each other, updating each other on trips they had taken abroad, nature conservation and theatre groups they are involved in and jobs they have secured. This creates a positive atmosphere in which members’ curiosity, ambition and independence are nurtured according to their own interests and abilities.
One-to-one programmes usually run for six to eight weeks, helping the service user towards a specific goal. There is also scope for this to be extended to twelve weeks, or to return for further support should a particular individual need more assistance in reaching their specific goal.
For example, one-to-one sessions may focus on helping people who have learning disabilities and autism to enhance their employability and skills. Sessions can help people develop their confidence in interviews, or train them in using public transport so they can access more employment opportunities further afield.
Good work brings a myriad of benefits to mental health and overall wellbeing, as well as reducing rates of economic inactivity. Warwickshire Wellbeing plays an important role in helping people to upskill and secure good jobs.
The drop-in sessions provide flexible, helpful opportunities during the daytime and some evenings for people with learning disabilities to receive support with a range of potential challenges.
For example, people who access the service can bring in letters they may have received but don’t fully understand. Support is also available to set up medical appointments, make phone calls, navigate welfare, managing a monthly budget, keeping safe online as well as signposting to a range of other services across substance use, sexual health and mental health provision.
Warwickshire Wellbeing promotes independence and an improved quality of life for people with a learning disability. These types of services, with dedicated Community Navigators can make lasting impacts on people with learning disabilities and enable them to make real progress towards goals they want to achieve, be that increasing their independence, finding employment or contributing to their local community.
Services such as Warwickshire Wellbeing remain few and far between, and demand for the service’s various programmes is high. As the health and care system shifts towards a preventative and community-based care model, services already delivering effective low-level interventions, like Warwickshire Wellbeing, should be at the forefront of policy shaping and evidence contribution.
Contact Warwickshire Wellbeing
Call: 07484 503 646
Email: [email protected]