Yvonne: Samantha came to RNID, she heard about the Transitions project and she approached us because she was looking for support in finding work, but also generally building her confidence interacting with other people, approaching people. Another thing she wanted support with was managing her money better, so what we did is we explained what we can offer her and because we are a client-centred service we sit down with the client and agree a support plan.
Sam: Before, I didn't know what to do. I asked Yvonne to help me, to make me feel confident. I am quite confident with handling my money, with my bank statements and with paying by cheque. I am trying to increase my confidence with other people, with transport in my local area where I work as a volunteer for the British Heart Foundation, so I know where to go. I asked Yvonne to give me confidence to build my confidence and to talk to other people as well, deaf people and hearing people.
Yvonne: I normally support Sam by visiting her in the community. Support is on a one-to-one basis, however we also hold workshopping events. Sam lives in a semi-rural area so it's great for her to come to Cardiff, for example, to join our workshop, meet friends and some of the workshops we have done, for example, are a kind of challenge.
The young people were set different challenges to find out about the services which are available in Cardiff, and they had to find their way around Cardiff. We put them in charge again by giving them a map and they had to work as team together. We were with the team, we supported them but we basically put them in charge because the project is about independent living skills.
Sam: I was quite nervous as I didn't know where to go so I asked Yvonne to help me with the timetable, to show me where to go, to show me the map so I could learn where to go. I went to a weekend in London. Yvonne showed me where to go on the bus and tube. I walked around… It was good.
Yvonne: There are some organisations that work with deaf people in South East Wales, the area we cover. However, none of these services offer the holistic approach. The service we offer is a one stop shop and that's why RNID has founded this project because there was a gap for people like Sam and that's why this is so great and unique!
Sam: I was quite nervous before but now I remember the few months and now I feel quite confident, at the moment.
Yvonne: It's great to see her making that progress and becoming more confident, meeting up with other deaf young people, doing more out in the community and it's just really nice to see.