“We’re like a family at Ty Crouch…”


By Mia Hollsing – Project Manager

Ty Crouch is a new five bedroom supported accommodation in Newport that Llamau opened in July this year.

 

Yes, we were aware opening a project in the midst of a pandemic was going to be hard but that wasn’t going to stop us. Regardless of how many challenges Covid threw our way, we knew that now more than ever, young people needed a safe and stable place to call home.

The same five young people who moved into Ty Crouch within the first few weeks of us opening our doors are still here now. It does feel like we’re a family at Ty Crouch or a little community. Everyone tries to help and support each other as a group and for some young people this can feel like the first time that they’ve belonged to a community or family in a long time.

It’s so important that when a young person first moves into one of Llamau’s supported accommodations, they’re given the time and space they need to begin adjusting to their new surroundings. It’s equally as important to encourage them to make the space their own. At Ty Crouch, the young people made the decision early on to move a lot of the furniture around to make it feel like their home. We also have an activity room here, which is a dedicated space for them to unwind with a board game or some arts and crafts or reading.

A few of the young people living here have a background in care, so we’ve supported them to help develop their independent living skills, which have now greatly improved.

 

There are always lovely smells coming from our kitchen in Ty Crouch because we do an awful lot of cooking and baking, which the young people really enjoy and are now taking control of and doing a lot of it themselves.

Part of our role as Support Workers, is to help encourage the young people we’re supporting to engage or re-engage in education if possible, supporting them with everything from the anxieties they feel around entering a classroom through to the enrolment process. I’m so proud to be able to say that all five of the young people living here are now actively engaged in education again. Three are in college and two are learning through another education provision. Not only does this give young people opportunities for their futures, but it also gives them purpose and belief in themselves and what they’re capable of.

Supported accommodations like Ty Crouch are so important if we want to help ensure young people develop a good sense of self and move on to be well rounded members of their community. Based on what Kyle*, Emily* and Aaron* told me today, I think we’re on the right track…

 

“Everyone gets along here and it’s a nice environment. Since moving here I’ve gone back to college.” – Emily

“The best thing about living in Ty Crouch is the support I have as well as my independence. I’m now in contact with my family again and sorting myself out. I’ve given up smoking weed and I’m not getting into trouble.” – Aaron

“Since moving into Ty Crouch I’ve enjoyed feeling more independent. I do my shopping and other things for myself. I have freedom. I also have a better understanding of how much things cost. Before I didn’t have to buy essentials, whereas now I do and am learning to budget” – Kyle

 

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This year we’ve opened
3
new supported accommodation projects for young people.


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