Football, family and plans for the future
From football matches and wedding plans to supporting people through difficult times, our East Midlands Living My Life Award celebrates teams helping people live life on their own terms.
Living My Life Award, East Midlands
Winner: Wynhill Court, Nottinghamshire supported living
Highly commended: Coleshill Road, Birmingham supported living
A Notts County season ticket, a wedding to plan and a holiday to Benidorm on the horizon. Ian has plenty going on. But after spending more than 25 years in secure hospitals, where his daily life was shaped by strict routines and constant supervision, these are freedoms he hasn’t always had.
The team at Wynhill Court, part of FitzRoy’s Nottinghamshire supported living services, won the Living My Life Award for the way they support people to make their own choices and live the lives they want.
Ian moved into his own home in 2024, in his mid fifties. Having spent so much of his adult life in hospital, the move was a huge change. At first, he needed two members of staff with him at all times, and even everyday activities involved careful planning. Two years on, life looks very different.
Football is a huge part of Ian’s life. As well as his season ticket, he plays five a side football every week and has made friends who share his love of the game. He regularly visits his brother, goes shopping on his own and makes his own way to his appointments – simple activities that so many of us take for granted but are new for Ian.
He’s also planning a wedding. Ian and his fiancée, whom he met while in hospital, have enjoyed a holiday together in Skegness and spent Valentine’s Day together. After years of restrictions, being able to spend time together and make plans for their future means a great deal.
Ronald and the team have worked closely with Ian to understand what matters to him and how he wants to live. They’ve also worked with his fiancée’s support team to help the couple make plans together, including their first holiday.
Ian described what having his own home meant to him; “I think now, life is just where I want it to be.”
Ian is thinking about his next holiday. He’d love to return to Benidorm, somewhere he visited with his family as a child. And there are plenty more Notts County matches to fit in before then.
Coleshill Road, FitzRoy’s Birmingham supported living service, was highly commended for the way colleagues have supported someone through a particularly difficult year.
The team have worked closely with him and his family, making sure his wishes continue to shape his days, even when circumstances have been challenging.
They have continued to notice and respond to even the smallest changes in his wellbeing, advocating for him and making sure his wishes remain central to his support.
One of the things they arranged was a day trip with his family, giving them an opportunity to enjoy time together.