A trainee working on a woodwork project in the Handcrafted workshop

Gavin’s Story

From social isolation to contributing in the community

We have had significant success working with people facing social isolation. This is often men over 50 who are struggling with their mental health due to long-term unemployment, family breakdown or offending history.

We have been working with Gavin for several years since he was living in temporary hostel accommodation. Gavin is very isolated with no support from family or friends. He is unable to re-enter the labour market and his daily life is being increasingly impacted by symptoms of Dementia.

He engaged well with the woodwork; he has expanded his skills over time and takes great pride in making things for other people. We were able to provide housing for Gavin, along with person-centred support which has made it sustainable for him to live independently. We have found that our side-by-side approach, has empowered Gavin to improve his mental wellbeing through increased social and creative activity.

Testimonials

There are countless challenges and barriers between our Fairchance service users and a healthy, productive and satisfying life.

We often use the term ‘chaotic lifestyle’ to describe the multitude of issues they face, and we contrast this lifestyle with an ideal that is secure, positive, stable and fulfilling. Often people looking in on the lifestyles of our service users find them intimidating, disorientating and full of risk – it should be no surprise that the same is true the other way around. For our service users who are looking into employment, education and stable accommodation, what they often see is a very unfamiliar culture and environment that they are unable to navigate.

Handcrafted helps to bridge this gap. It’s a middle ground between work and leisure where our service users are building confidence, self-esteem, working relationships, responsibilities, a sense of achievement. As a natural consequence of this and armed with the skills necessary to make this transition our service users are developing goals and ambitions and making plans for the futures that they are beginning to see as a reality for themselves.

Joe K, Fair Chance Project, Oasis Aquila Housing