"Jan absolutely loves it here. She hasn’t used her wheelchair for two years now." Clair, Waterside House Manager

Before Jan moved into SeeAbility’s Waterside House, she was living in supported housing but wasn’t happy. Spending a lot of time alone, she had grown very anxious.

"My sister had always had a smile for everyone but she had become depressed and introverted. It was like she was disappearing and I couldn’t see how to improve things." Jan's sister Kerry

Finding a new home

At SeeAbility, we work hard to ensure everyone we support can participate and contribute to the things that are important to them. We achieve this by providing a person-centred approach where people like Jan can participate and contribute to the things that are important to them. This was something Jan and Kerry noticed when they visited our Waterside House. Kerry said:

"When we walked into the lounge, there was a big table with everyone sitting around it. There was such a lovely family atmosphere. When Jan sat down, a lady said, ‘I’m in the choir – you could join too’. It just felt so right."

As soon as Jan moved into our Waterside House, the SeeAbility team took time to understand her and what she enjoyed doing. They recognised that Jan’s anxiety had caused her to gain weight through comfort eating, which in turn meant she had become less active and needed a wheelchair to get around. 

Therefore, they worked with Jan and found ways of reducing her anxiety and need to comfort eat. This started with encouraging her to make healthier food choices, and gradually they worked towards regular exercise. The team found that Jan loves using a Fitbit to track her steps, and this helped her develop a positive approach to keeping fit.

A big step forward

With a lot of hard work and dedication, Jan lost three stone and is now living an active and healthy lifestyle. She walks to the shops, plays ball with a neighbour and has even tried bowling and swimming. Clair speaks about Jan's transformation:

"Jan absolutely loves it here. She hasn’t used her wheelchair for two years now and has grown out of her comfort eating habit. Even during lockdown, she has been able to keep fit by doing indoor exercises."

Our aim is to enable the people we support to live more independently and achieve things they never thought possible. If you would like to support our work, find out all the ways you can get involved and make a difference.