Residents living at Cascade’s residential home in Withernsea travelled to Lincolnshire for an afternoon of meeting new people at the care provider’s latest friendship meeting.
Taking place on Wednesday 8 June at Sleaford Cricket Club, the friendship meeting gave residents living with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions the chance to meet up with others living at Cascade homes in Norfolk and practice their social skills with like-minded people in a relaxed environment.
Over 50 people came to Wednesday’s event, during which residents enjoyed individual picnic boxes, played fun lawn games and took part in various ice breaker activities that were designed to encourage conversation and socialising.
Carol Ryan, director of education and lifelong learning at Cascade, said of the meeting: “Forming relationships is a really important subject here at Cascade, and something that we’ve started thinking very seriously about over the past year.
“The residents in our assisted living facilities are adults and have the right to have relationships. We want to empower them to be able to do this if desired, encouraging them to feel more confident and comfortable about a subject which many people in society find hard to talk about.”
The second friendship meeting this year, this was one of the many activities that take place as part of Cascade’s focus on RSHE – relationships, sex and health education – for residents, who will now write letters and draw postcards and pictures to stay in touch with their new-found friends.
The friendship meeting also gave residents a chance to travel to another town, experiencing a change from their usual routines.
Carol continued: “Sleaford has become the home for our meetings as it is half-way between our houses in Withernsea and Norfolk. We’re looking forward to returning later in the year for our residents to catch up with new-found friends.”
Also in attendance was a representative from a Hull-based adult store, who helped promote education and resources around sex and relationships, and how best to help residents and their specific needs.
