Stories
Laura’s Story - in her own words
“I’m disabled and proud of it, and proud of my life.”
“There are people out there who are like me, who don’t feel as confident and need that support to build themselves up and let their natural selves shine. Because of the steps I’ve taken, alongside Improving Lives support, I know that although I might be in pain physically, I can do things to help, and I’m not alone either – other people can help too. "
It was bleak when we first met – I wasn’t getting any help anywhere. I felt as though my life was over. No dreams, no ambition. All I had to look forward to in my future was pain, suffering and disability. At the time I met my support worker, I was making funeral plans so as to not burden my son.
I wanted to build my confidence back up, to go back to community activities and find parts of myself again. I had struggled in the past with difficult experiences, which resulted in me feeling alone and unable to share my feelings – leading to drinking alcohol. Although I had managed to fix my relationship with alcohol, I hadn’t yet fixed my confidence. By talking with my support worker, I felt I had been given a different way of looking at things.
Improving Lives initially helped and encouraged me to attend their social groups, including art and craft – which was interesting as I didn’t think arts and crafts was my thing! These groups were a brilliant way for me to get out into the world and to find myself again. For example, I came to the crochet group and couldn’t crochet before but now I’m making gifts for friends and designing clothes. I realised I have an eye for arts and craft, and I never knew this about myself before. From Eddie, our Art group volunteer, I learned that anybody can paint and anybody can be an artist – you’ve just got to learn to feel it and pour these feelings into your work. By putting these into my crafts, I feel I’ve been able to process some of my experiences and how they’ve affected me, as well as how I can move forward into my future. I’ve also learned that even if things go wrong I can fix it – I can pull it apart and re-do it, just like my crochet. I feel myself, but somehow different.
I am grateful for the structure of Improving Lives support too, they complement life, rather than taking away from it. By attending Improving Lives’ groups and making new friends, I felt encouraged to also attend other local groups – enabling me to feel a part of my community.
Improving Lives were my stabilisers at a time I needed it most. They helped me to run when I didn’t even think I could walk. I feel I have time to stop and smell the flowers now, and a fire has been set alight inside of me – making me want to make things better for others too. I’ve since been on TV and the Radio and want to advocate for myself and others. I go to marches and stand up for the things I believe. By recognising my skills and assets, I feel good things have come my way, including a life-changing court decision, improvements to my financial situation and going on group trips to the seaside. These changes have also helped me to focus on my son and relationship with my family. I let him know he can be whoever he wants to be, and I help other children in local groups to feel seen too – as supporting families is a passion of mine.