"Sarah's Story: Dancing, Music, Support"

OK, so first of all, can I get you to introduce yourself? So, uh, So, Sarah, tell me about where you live. What you enjoy doing. What? What is your What makes you happy? Oh, look, we are like, a little same family. Friends love singing and dancing too

Yeah, I think that singing and dancing. OK, so what? What kind of music and what kind of dancing? 00, a little like anti and then look like Bali type of Oh, Bali. Bali

Yeah. Um, yeah. She quite likes Ellie, don't you? Really? Yeah

I'm just wondering if you'd be able to sit forward because I can't hear you, Um, go a little bit closer with the chair, because then that will work a little better. There you go. Speak up a little to you then

And what I heard is that you're Sarah. Um, you love singing and dancing. A little bit of ballet

Tell me about where you live. No, it's no good. Really

Speak up a little bit, Love. Go on. It's no good

But love is he rubbish? It's in a hospital at the minute, isn't it? Yeah. What? What? What? What? What makes it no good. Tell me why

It's no good. Why is it not supporting you? No, not surprise. Well, tell tell Isaac the things that you tell me that happens in the You don't feel like they listen to you? No, that listen

So when when you share what you need, people listen to you. Do people support you? Um not taking no, not particularly support that No, you don't support. You do

That's what she's saying. So we need to speak up just a tiny bit more. OK, so when the people don't particularly support you Well, so what would good support look like for you? How would you like to be supported? What do you want them to do for you? What do you What do you want? You tell Isaac what it is you want to make you happy now? Not sure

Well, you do. You want your own place. So again, remember? So to get you out of there, what do you want? Your own place

So you want your own home? Did you use to live in? Did you have your own home before you went into hospital? No, I live in Portland. But I, I mean myself. I live in Scotland, but just like a couple

Maybe a couple couple or maybe just a couple of people living with you know what I mean? Yeah. So would you like to go back to living in supported living, or would you like your own place? I'm not really sure. She don't know, do you? Really? I mean, she she she'd like

I met, I think. But if it was on your own, she she she knows that she needs support with it, don't you? Yes. And you know what kind of support would you need to live in your own home? You might have with cooking

Um what kind of food do you like cooking, then? Come and tell me. What kind of food do you like cooking like pasta, mainly. Oh, I love pasta

Oh, Italian food is amazing. So you like you would need help with cooking. Um, what other kind of support do you think would be good for you? But you like going out, don't you? Yeah, I need to I need someone to go

I don't know. Yeah. So tell is that Tell me

Hang out with now. So to go but a little nervous. Don't be shy

This is just a conversation between me and you. So what I know about you already is that you are a great dancer. And you love music

Me and you both like pasta. We wanna live in our own homes. You said that you wanted a little bit of support to go out

So do do you Is that, uh, support work or some A friend. Who? Who would you want to go out with? I don't know. Don't know

To To do No. Right, Right. For if Ok, can I ask you about like, how so? Whoever's supporting you, what would you How would you like them to be? So what do they need to be? What, like, Do they need to be kind to How? How do you people that support? You need to be with you and understand understanding

And what's your current experience? Do you get that in hospital at the moment? Are people kind and understanding to you? No, not really. Why don't you tell Isaac about your day? You say that again. He said that? Yeah

They both died, didn't they? They used they like big tables. what I'm gonna do. I'm just gonna nip out and leave you here with Isaac

So you have a little natter with Isaac? Yeah, I know. It's about about the questions that is asking. You just listen to Isaac and you talk to him

Yeah, OK, so you wouldn't. So this is what I heard is that you want your own home. You'd love pets

Well, maybe support a living, but I'm not sure. And where would you like that? Supported living to be? Weakness. Maybe you have a moment

You know your mom and tell me about your mom. Now you've got a good relationship with your mom. Yeah

Yeah. And you said that you would like some support to get out And about, uh, what kind of support would you like? Mhm. Uh uh

OK. What? How would you do? People have conversations with you about the types of support that you might like no good And thinking about like your future. So, like you're in hospital now, you're in hospital now when you get out and you've got your own home, what kind of things would you like to be able to do? Oh, I go to like farm

Now it's like volunteering animals, volunteering with animals. So you're a big animal lover. Did I tell you I've got four dogs? Yeah, the names stie

Um, let me show you. Stephi, this is Stephi. Ah, it's cute

So you would like your own home. You would like to volunteer with animals. Um, I think I heard you say that you would like to get out and about Would that be, like, get out and about to music things or get out and about? Cos you said that you like music? Yeah, I do love music

What have you got? A type of music that you like many pop pop. Eighties pop, nineties pop, maybe. New movie

Yeah, OK. Do you have lots of friends? I have quite a quite a bit of friends. Yeah

Yeah. So are they important to you being able to keep in contact with your friends? Yeah. Can I ask you about the support that you get from Gael? Like, what's the support that you get from Gale? And how does that work? Um, well, she's supposed me on different things

I mean, give me an example. Does she support you with your well being. Does she support you getting out and about? Um not sure

So where you are now, Uh, what is this place where you are now? It's, like, inspired for I Can they call that it so art or something? So, do you like art? Oh, and is it better to be there than it is in the hospital? Yeah. What makes it better to be there? I. I see how my friends like its like I

I just get to enjoy myself now. I mean yeah, and is enjoying yourself really important for you? Yeah, can ask you. You said that, um you didn't feel that people listened to you in the hospital

If you were gonna talk to them or share with them. What would you say to them? What do you want your future to look like? I don't know. How does it make you feel when people don't listen to you upset F? And do you often feel upset and frustrated right there? Yeah, OK

And when people listen to you So like people like Gail who listen to you how does that make you feel? Good? It's Yeah. And when you're when you feel that you're in a good place. Um What What do you think that you can do? Like what? How How is that different from being in a in a not so good place? I'm not sure

So, like when you said that Gale listens to and you feel good. Do you feel like you can do more things? Do you feel more connected with people? Yeah, I feel more connected with people. Tell me about your mental health and well, being like D does

Does it? Does it do when you are feeling happy? Does that support your well being? Does it make you feel less anxious? Yeah. Um, So what could be different in the support that you currently get? If you were gonna change the support you were gonna get, you're getting in hospital. What? Would you want to be different? Yeah

Is there anything you could tell me, like would like to share with me about being in hospital? Not really, No. Yeah. Just crap

Enough. Lots of keeping up going on all the time. I mean, so it's really crap in hospital

Lots of kicking off when you say kicking off. Tell me what? Ha, What what you mean by that? I have to shout and lots of people kicking off. Yeah

And how's how does that make you feel? Depressed and down. I just wanna stay in the room. Yeah, all the way

You know what I mean? Yeah. And when you're in your home, like, how does that impact on you much of the West? Mhm. So we support, Am I? So being out of there would be good for your mental health? I suppose, right? Yeah

Can I ask you because you talked about Mum? And like you talked about having lots of friends? Um What? What could be done Different in terms of getting you out of hospital. W. How How are we gonna support you to get your own home? To be able to volunteer all of those kind of things? What? What do people need to hear? I don't know

I don't know. Do you feel like people listen to you when you tell them that you wanna get out of hospital? No. OK

And how How does that make you feel depressed? I get anxious. I get anxious. Yeah, I remember those times have not been listened to and how that could impact on me

So thinking about your future, like, do you think about a time when you're not in hospital and what you would want that time to feed and look like? So when you're out of hospital, I know that you wanna volunteer with animals. I know you want your own home. You wanna continue to come to the project that Gale is at and you want to continue to do your pop music go out and stuff like that

If there are any other things that you might wanna do, I'm not sure you forgot. I forgot the pasta. You wanna make pasta? Um, is there anything Gail that you wanted to share? Because I think, um, um, yeah

I mean, the the thing with it is I mean, you know, S. Sarah is quite a good talker, really, aren't you? But you're a little bit nervous, aren't you know, being on video and everything? Yeah, I think like it's better face to face sometimes. You know, when we're talking to them, Really

And I know that's obviously difficult for yourselves. Um, but we really want to be able to get you somebody out there don't we? You know, Sarah, Sarah's you know, she has some real good independence, you know, And she can look after herself in some aspects, can't you? Yeah, you know, but she she does know that she needs support as well. You know, she understands that

But I think the the issue and, you know, I know the hospital Try to help her, and people do try to help you, don't they? But the issue is is the lack of, um, I think supported living is is the biggest issue for Sarah. I mean, she has been in supported living before, but I think it's then the care package that's put in place around her because Sarah would need help, you know, managing her, taking her medications. Um, And I'm not sure you really had as much of that, did you When you were in the last place, did you? I don't think there was much help with the with the managing of medications

So I think there's times where you you weren't really taking it. Very good way. No, that is going on all night being that OK, slow down and tell me that is running out on the night

Yeah, you'd be out all night, run down middle night. Running out in the middle of the night is what you used to do and things you said so. But But I think one of the other issues was as well is

I think Sarah got into drinking in the last place, didn't you? That's where she started drinking far too much because S and used to do that, Did you used to be all right, But the problem is, in these supported living places, sometimes they're full of people who have got drug and alcohol problems. And not just people who are autistic and, you know, got mental health problems. So people like Sarah go into this place

And then Sarah then got a bit of a drink problem because she was mixing with all the other people, you know, So So that that's what what really put Saran in the place? She's in at the minute because she was drinking too much. So Sarah can ask you like So when you come out of hospital, is it important for you to be in a place where people aren't drinking? Is it important for you to be in a place that is safe for you. Yeah, definitely

And you said you wanted to live near your mum, didn't you? Mhm. Yeah, Because her mom's quite poorly, isn't she? Mum's quite poorly, isn't she? Yeah. And so So? And that's the only support Sarah really has

I mean, she's got her brothers, but they have some difficulties themselves a little bit, don't they? I think I don't know. Well, they're busy looking after Mum, aren't they? Yeah. My mum's been like a sole carer for a long time

And do do you wanna do you like helping out your mom? Do you like helping Nemo? Oh, your best. Yeah. Your best

Yeah. Is there anything else you wanted to share with me? Cos I know it's really hard meeting a stranger online and talking. I mean, one of the biggest things is really you know, it's like she's always wants somebody to be able to go out to places with because she hasn't got a massive amount of friends, have you? But what friends she has got have got difficulties themselves, and they can't always go out with you

Can they either? So what she could really do with is is like a P. A You know, a support worker that could go out to places because she loves going to music concerts, don't you? But what Sarah tends to do is go and book tickets for places. But she knows she can't go to them

But she books the tickets and wastes all her money, don't you? I'm with you. I'm always over. So I heard you say ballet again

So you like to go out and do stuff? Maybe having a bit of support from a personal assistant of a carer? Um, a little bit of help with budgeting. Managing your money. Yeah

Need that, don't you? How about we can see your breakfast, then? I'm just Thank you for coming to talk to me. I'm gonna talk to one of your other colleagues. What? I'm wondering Gail, is it for you? Because I think it's a bit difficult

Um, because I'm a stranger. What about you? Um, just using your phone to record a conversation with Sarah and then send it to us because she she's pretty comfortable with me. Aren't you? Yeah, she's not

She's not the greatest Children in the world like she is when she wants to be, But then she's not always are yet, but, um, she she's not so bad with myself, so I can I can have a try at that. So I'm just gonna say, before we go, um, that I've learned all these really lovely things about you. So you like caring for other people? You You love your ballet, your pop music and booking lots of tickets

You like being out and about. You love going to the project that girls supports you at. You wanna live near your mum? Um, you want some support to manage? Um, every day you wanna get out of hospital

And the really important thing is that you just need a little bit of support, Um, to be able to live independently. Um, and you're really animal loving person. Have I missed anything? No, that sounds like you got

I think you've got it down to a inhaler and and noticing that you can cross your legs, which I can't cross my legs, which is the Thank you so much for talking to me. Um really appreciate. Still waiting on Sam

Anyway, at the minute. So she is on her way. She is on her on her way, but not yet

So should I? I'll stop recording there.