Michael is a young man currently living at one of our supported living properties in the North West. Having overcome a challenging period in his life, he shared his thoughts with us from his journey so far…
I’m Michael from London. I moved out of London when I was 17 into a residential home. Whilst I was there, I found it really hard to understand my emotions. I felt upset and angry sometimes. I couldn’t really go out and about and I wasn’t looking after my health.
My social worker showed me one of Cygnet’s North West Supported Living homes and said he thought it would be good for me. I moved in three years ago. At the time I wasn’t very confident, I didn’t really want to speak to people and when things were bothering me, I kept it to myself. I wasn’t happy in myself and would sometimes self-harm to cope. The staff here helped me to control my emotions more. They would talk to me – I knew they were there for me. They would sit and listen to me and try to cheer me up, it helped me to open up and speak more often.
The team encouraged me to get up and go out, to get me back to my normal self again. Sometimes we would go on walks. At first, I would have to wear a mask and sunglasses to feel safe – they were like my shield. In the beginning, I didn’t really want to go out or to exercise, but eventually I started to enjoy it and it stopped feeling like a punishment or a chore. Now I like going out quite often, and I don’t need my mask or glasses, or staff to help me anymore. I like going out shopping, to the gym and to the cinema.
The staff still help me with some things. They have been helping me to budget so that I can make sure I get all the things that I need. I’ve even started some savings, and I hope next year I will have enough to go on holiday.
I am looking after myself better now, making better choices. I’m learning how to cook different things, like stir-frys and salads, and I like cooking fish at the moment. I also have a cat, which helps to comfort me. I feel like if he’s okay, then I’m okay.
In my time here, the things I am most proud of are improving my behaviour, communicating better with the staff and being more confident. In the future I would really like to spend more time with my family and to get a job. I just need to carry on doing what I’m doing.
If I was to give advice to someone who was feeling like I did, I would say to take the support that is given to you, open up about things if you can and listen to what other people have to say – take the help. Before, I didn’t like speaking, but now I know the staff care for me. I’ve known some of them since day one.
“We are really proud of Michael. He has lots of potential and we think he’s going to be really successful, maybe an entrepreneur! He has a great personality and his confidence has come on so much.”Carly, Support Worker