We’ve been beating the January blues with a busy start to the year at Richardson Care. Our service users have been doing lots of different activities – in Northampton and further afield as well as in the homes. We support each individual to participate in the things they love, and those that will help them to achieve their personal goals.

These activities bring joy, excitement, provide something to look forward to, and to reflect upon. In addition, they benefit service users by supporting communication, social and cognitive skills, and often physical skills such as fine motor skills, mobility and strength.

All of the service users are supported to make their own choices about the activities they would like to do. Depending on their individual circumstances, they may take part on their own or with others, and with activity support worker(s).

Making a difference

We recently worked very hard to gain additional funding for one young man so that he can have some 1:1 support to enable to live a more fulfilling life. This means that he can now go trampolining each week, and we are also arranging for him to attend hydrotherapy sessions. These activities make a big difference to his overall well-being and the quality of his life.

In addition, our service users have recently participated in activities including:

• Tours of Arsenal and Aston Villa football stadia
• Train trip to Birmingham to the Think Tank and Space museums
• Day out at Barratts Snooker Club in Northampton with The Cube day centre playing snooker and darts and having lunch
• A trip to the Deco Theatre in Northampton to see the Megaslam Wrestling live tour
• An evening at the spectacular Drone Light Show and entertainment in Northampton
• A Valentine’s pamper evening at The Cube – including manicure, hair-styling and lovely food
• Attending woodwork classes
• Voluntary work in a library or for a furniture re-use charity
• Watching Northampton’s rugby and football teams

In-house activities

We’ve also held themed events in the homes around Burns’ Night, Chinese New Year and Australia Day. We’ve had another visit from Pets as Therapy and all the guys enjoy seeing Dave and his lovely dog, Freddie. And we run regular Music Enrichment sessions, arts and crafts, puzzles and jigsaw activities and armchair exercises, among others.

Therapeutic support

Members of the multi-disciplinary team work with the care staff to ensure that the right support is in place to enable the service users to participate in the activities they want to do. This may be with supporting communication needs, managing their behaviours, overcoming cognitive difficulties such as memory loss, or working out accessibility requirements. Some activities require a lot of planning and preparation, and it’s often a team effort to make them happen.

Empowering service users to make decisions about their daily life and enabling them to take part in fulfilling activities are core values of Richardson Care.