Before joining the Glasgow East Personalisation pilot Hilary’s support was built around trips to the Day Centre which wasn’t really her cup of tea. She didn’t like having to travel to a day Centre which was nowhere near where she lives. She wanted to socialise with people in her own community rather than having to travel somewhere else.
When Hilary received her Individual Budget she decided to swap one of the days at the Day Centre and use the budget to spend time with friends. Hilary and 3 of her friends found things within their local community and activities at home that they could do instead. They set up their own exercise class and started going to zumba at the local community centre.
Hilary loves to sing. Now that lives in her own home she decided to host a karaoke night at her house once a week. Her friends come round and they all enjoy a sing song and have a bite to eat.
The support Hilary now receives on an Individual Budget allows her to live the kind of social life she wanted. As part of the service she receives from Enable Scotland Hilary check in regularly and lets us know how it’s going. Hilary and her friends decided that they wanted to try something new. With support they organised a regular drumming class to be held in a nearby community centre and now other people have joined the class thanks to Hilary. Sharing support to do things with friends is something Hilary could never have done without an Individual Budget. Personalisation has opened up a whole world of possibilities for Hilary and her friends.
Hilary also decided that she wanted to learn something new at the beginning of this year. She found the Cant cook, but willing to try cookery class at her local college she enrolled straight away. Hilary has completed the course and is planning on testing out her new culinary skills on her friends when they come round for dinner.
Hilary has also been involved in the ENABLE Scotland’s All About Me Group. This was set up to look at the Scottish government’s self directed support strategy. Hilary enjoyed taking part in the discussion and also met new friends in the process. They now make time to visit each other regularly and have built a great friendship.
Through Personalisation Hilary has been able to share support with friends which allows her to use her Individual Budget lots of different things. This would never have been possible under the old system as Hilary could not have shared a support worker with a friend but now the possibilities are endless.