I would like to introduce myself. My name is Gavin and I am 22yrs old

I moved into Sunnyside House just over a year ago. I had previously been in care homes and supported housing but these placements had not worked out, mainly due to my need to learn more daily living skills.

Since I have been a service user at Sunnyside I have learnt to cook good, healthy meals. My favourite meal to cook is Spaghetti Bolognese and I am able to be the chef on the days I cook for all the people I live with. Other skills I am developing are my cleaning and house keeping skills. I am now very confident in cleaning the communal areas and I can keep my room to a high standard.

I like going to the Gym and swimming when the weather is warmer. I also go to college with my friend Allan to improve our literacy.

Being able to budget and manage money is important so I go to the shops and buy items for the house to learn how to have the right money and change. This helps me when I go to the pub on a Friday night where I have a couple of beers. I go on my own as I know lots of people in the pub. Sometimes my friend Catherine comes with me although she only likes to drink coke. Catherine is my best friend at Sunnyside and we get on so well together.

At Sunnyside we have a games room, which everyone loves. We can play pool and get onto the computer to do emails and learn new skills on the Internet.

Since I have been at Sunnyside I’ve learned to travel on the Bus and I know all the routes. I can go to Lakeside and Grays independently and I am hoping to be able to go to Tilbury and Romford in the near future.

We do some activities as a group, like bowling, cinema, theatre, and we have also been up to London to The British Museum. The staff help us to achieve things we like to do and also help us to learn to be independent for the future. Then I hope to get paid employment. I have been working hard to take my C/V’s to local employers at Lakeside in shops like Primark, Marks and Spencer’s, Take away and food outlets. I am hoping to hear back from them soon.

I stayed at my Mum and Dads house in Norfolk for Christmas. We like to go to visit the dog track there and I recently won £4.50 with the help of my Dad of course. Mum and Dad will also visit me in February and I look forward to seeing them.

I enjoy living here but look forward to moving into the new 2 bedroom flat being built at Sunnyside this year. This will help me become more independent and practise living on my own with less support. In the future I hope to find a girlfriend and get engaged. Later on get married and maybe have one child. But that’s a long way off right now. I’m happy to be getting on with my busy and exciting life. Sunnyside has helped me to achieve lots of new experiences and I look forward to the year ahead.

By Gavin