J, 30:  He is a young man with learning difficulties, ADHD and mental health issues caused by things he experienced in foster care and being rejected by his biological mother.  This led to a mental health crisis and to regular confrontational and even violent outbursts.

So, when he was referred to us a couple years ago he had just finished a stay of several years in a secure mental health unit and the team working with him were looking to re-establish him in the community.  The long-term goal was to have him living as independently as possible. However, he had not had a chance to develop the skills to look after himself and as his diet was pretty poor (lots of take aways and ready meals) they thought cookery should be one of those skills.

That day when he first walked in, he was accompanied by 4 support workers who had to heavily supervise him and he even showed us in those early days some of his confrontational and negative behaviour.  That was his story then.

So what is his story now?

Can he cook? The answer is yes. He can cook for himself and a wide variety of different meals. In fact, he is so in charge of what he eats now he has become a strict vegetarian and pushes himself to try new and interesting recipes based on this life choice.

Is he still confrontational? No. He and the team and his support workers all know him so well now that it never reaches that point. In fact, he is one of the key members of our volunteer team and helps support others all the time. He is part of the gardening club that maintains our outside areas and he helps with The Bread and Butter Thing service every Wednesday. He helps to pack and distribute the subsidized bags of shopping this provides.

 Does he live independently? He has moved out of shared accommodation into his own bungalow and now comes to us with just 1 support worker.  And that support worker does not have to closely monitor him whilst he is with us.  He just gets on with things himself.

As J says, “I love coming here. All of the staff are nice and friendly. I don’t class this as a centre when I come here, it is more like a second home with friends. I wouldn’t know what to do without this place.”

A, 84: A few months ago A was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  The family had seen a slow change in her, she was anxious over little things, forgot names, birthdays, etc and some activities which she always enjoyed (such as cooking), she found difficult.

Apart from family, she had limited social activity; she missed her friends who she had known for years as she had out lived them.  She and her family wanted her to have more social contact and to find some interests for her. She then joined one of our cookery courses.

She enjoys meeting other people and the staff at PNC have been excellent.  She looks forward to the cookery sessions and what she cooks that day is enjoyed by her husband as well. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, the psychiatrist has advised to try and keep active and use her brain, i.e. reading, cooking, etc. The activity at PNC has given her a new interest, in that she is keen with assistance to try and cook at home.  The social contact is also good for her and it helps the rest of the family to know that there is support for her.