During 2007 following both of our retirements we moved up from Portsmouth in Hampshire to our bungalow in the east coast village of Saltfleet. As Jan had experience working in social care with people with learning difficulties, we decided that we would like to support this client group during some of our spare time. After making some local enquires we were directed towards Adults Supporting Adults, and after contact and discussions with Richard and Dean we decided to apply to become respite providers.
The assessment process was very thorough, and when we attended the pre-approval training Richard informed us that it was to be a small group, which when we arrived turned out to be extremely small consisting of just us two, as the other couple had been unable to attend. We both enjoyed the training and learnt a lot. We were told about the matching process and how important it was to ensure that the placement was successful, we both now realise how this worked and feel that all the clients we supported matched our abilities and lifestyle.
We both feel that we really enjoyed having clients stay with us, and on reflection we both got as much out of the stays as they did, with many of them having an impact on our lives. Seeing the clients being accepted as part of our community was very rewarding and they were always part of village events when they were staying with us.
A particular part of the role as respite providers that we found rewarding was being able to give clients time. Seeing them develop new skills such as making simple meals and more complex baking was really enjoyed, as was eating what they had prepared. We found supporting clients to discover new hobbies and places of interest enabled us to learn and develop new skills, as well as encouraging us to explore more than we would have done.
Something we both agree is that we valued and respected Richard for the support we received from him and we appreciated the contact from all the staff team at Adults Supporting Adults. Although we never had the need to call it, knowing that the on-call phone was available was a great comfort to us. We both looked forward to our monthly supervisions with Richard and liked discussing the achievements and progress made by the clients we supported.
Attending training was important to us both and we always attended it together. We especially enjoyed the dementia training: it was made really interesting and was at the correct level. We both found that what we learnt was very useful recognising that it was not just for our work with Adults Supporting Adults but also in our family life.
Unfortunately due to increasing family commitments it has been with regret that we have had to resign as providers, but we have really enjoyed working for Adults Supporting Adults, and we hope that we have made a difference to some clients and their carer’s lives. We have found our time as respite providers very satisfying and we wish all our clients and friends at Adults Supporting Adults our best wishes for the future and thank you all for the support and kindness we received.
Jan and Derek Thornton
