It didn’t take long for the four housemates at The Disability Trust’s Hollow Way accommodation to become “sisters”.
The effervescent quartet – Tamara, Kristy, Sarah and Alison – are thriving at the Supported Independent Living house in Calderwood since moving in together in 2019.
They get up to a mix of social activities at home and in the community while they also share a sense of camaraderie in completing their work around the house.
The housemates often go out dancing together, to the movies, for a dinner at a local restaurant while they are also enthusiastic members of The Disability Trust’s monthly CycleAbility program.
They call each other their “house sisters” and their support worker Jordan is proud of the way they have become so tight knit over their years together.
“Since living together they have become quite good friends. They call each other their house sisters which is really sweet.
“They have a really good friendship and each of them has grown in their own way.”
For the parents of these women, having a place like Hollow Way gives them peace of mind.
Sarah’s dad, John, said the housemates were friends before moving in together but now they share a unique bond.
“It was important for me to find somewhere for Sarah to go where she’s fully supported as I’m getting older,” he explained.
“We came across The Disability Trust who were terrific in showing us a couple of properties. From that, this house was found for the girls and things have been terrific since then.
“They get on really well together, they’re very well supported, the staff here have been excellent.
“As parents what we want is our children to be happy and healthy, and supported to develop their skills of independence, and that’s been happening here.”
John said Sarah had thrived in the supportive atmosphere of the SIL home.
“When I see my daughter she’s far more resilient and confident and independent so it’s just been a wonderful experience,” he added.
“You can gauge how things have been going just from the look on her face and the fact that she’s always quite happy and content.
“After she’s been to visit me and I say ‘Sarah, it’s time to go back’, she quite happily comes back. There’s not an argument there of ‘Dad I want to stay with you’. It’s ‘the girls will miss me’. There’s never been an issue in that regard.
“So much of that depends on the quality of the staff and we have been lucky here to have lovely support workers who the girls love. That helps enormously and as a parent that means I can relax knowing my daughter is well looked after.”
Kristy’s mother, Jenny, said learning how to adapt to change has been important for her daughter.
“She used to live in a one-bedroom flat. Moving here she had to share a whole house with three other girls and have carers coming in at different times and staff changing. She’s really come on in leaps and bounds with adapting to changes,” Jenny said.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvements. Having Kristy settled here, we can watch her grow and that’s been wonderful.”
