The Y’s support service for disabled young people saved by BBC Children in Need funding

28th July 2016

The Y are delighted to announce that BBC Children in Need has awarded a grant of £118,909 to fund The Y’s Flat 108 Enabling Independence service over 3 years.  The Y had feared that the service may close as current funding came to end, having already made a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people here in Leicester.

 

Based in Leicester city centre, Flat 108 is a purpose-built training flat where young people aged 16 – 18 with physical or learning disabilities can spend time developing their independence skills, building strong self-belief, confidence and aspirations for their future. BBC Children in Need will fund a small staff team who work with each person in areas such as travel training, personal safety, budgeting & household bills, shopping, cooking, personal care and cleaning.

 

In 2011, The Y developed 7 self-contained flats to be accessible for disabled young people, Leicester City Council’s Disabled Children’s Service supported The Y to develop a small project to work with young people with a range of special educational needs and disabilities. The service offered opportunities to develop living skills and apply them to take control over day to day decisions and choices at a crucial stage of transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Some of those young people will not be eligible for support from social care services which can lead to crisis at later stages in life.

 

Anna Maudsley, the Housing Director at The Y said; “We could not have continued to offer this specialist service for young people in Leicester without the support of BBC Children in Need. This grant will go on to change the lives of so many young people and give them the support they need.”

 

 

Brad’s Story

 Brad is a young man on the autistic spectrum whose life was changed dramatically through the support of the Flat 108 team in 2015.

 

“For a long period of my life, from like six years old, I wouldn’t go out to socialise or leave my house. I just wouldn’t associate myself with the real world. I would watch the world go by outside my bedroom window.

 

Prior to coming to Flat 108 I was aware of the concept of doing chores but needed to gain the ability to do it myself without the support of my father. I came here to learn two things, which I didn’t know how to do before: travel training and cooking. My fear of fire came from abuse when I was a kid. The training helped me lessen my fear of being burnt in a kitchen, it’s also shown me how to cook certain things and do chores without the support of my father.

 

The one-to-one support explained everything clearly and I really liked speaking to my support worker. I feel I can travel around more which will help me when I go to university. The service helped me to leave the house which I never knew how to do before this experience and helped me feel confident about being able to live independently in the future.”