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Life has remained increasingly busy in the Fledge house over the past few months with new residents arriving, one resident moving on and Christmas activities.
November saw the last room in the house filled when our 5th resident joined us. This resident has settled in well and Fledge is supporting her as she completes her second year at college whilst dealing with the issues that led to her referral to us.
In December a couple of Fledge residents along with Nerissa and myself dressed up as nativity characters to be part of a ‘living nativity’ stand at the Ageas Bowl Christmas Festival. People visiting the festival were invited to have their photo taken at the stable with the nativity characters and ‘donkey’ (which was actually a pony!) We braved the freezing weather outside for a few hours before taking ‘Mary’ and ‘Joseph’ to warm up at McDonalds where they received several curious glances still being in full costume!
The Fledge residents, staff and some of the trustees enjoyed a delicious Christmas meal together, kindly donated and cooked by Brian and Linda from St Francis Church. The residents enjoyed opening a ‘stocking’ of presents donated by members of St Francis Church which were very gratefully received. As well as eating, the evening was spent playing games chosen by the residents. The residents had also arranged some surprise entertainment in the form of a friend of one of the residents who wowed us with card tricks. The residents all spent time with friends or family over Christmas Day and Boxing Day with a couple staying away for an extended period of time over the holidays.
In January we welcomed Ali Williams to the Fledge team. Ali is working 2 days a week as a support worker. She has settled in well and Tasha and Nerissa are very pleased to have her on board to share the workload. As well as being keyworker for a couple of the residents Ali is also running the house cooking session on a Monday and will be starting a course on Fridays for residents relating to self image.
The end of January has seen our first resident move out of Fledge into accommodation with her fiancé and his brother, rented to them by family. The residents and staff said goodbye with a meal out together. The young person will continue to be supported by her mentor as she transitions into the next stage of her life, working towards attending University later in the year. We welcomed a new resident a couple of days later who is now settling in to life at Fledge. Three more residents are also looking at moving on in the near future and we are working with them to find suitable accommodation. It will be a busy time ahead with lots of changes in the house but we continue to be motivated by seeing the difference that Fledge is making to the young people’s lives.
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