For Mol, it’s all about the people and the chat – singing too, if at all possible. Getting more people along to the places where she likes to hang out. Finding ways to get new friends and old ones involved in what she likes to do. Creating the right atmosphere and ‘a buzz,’ wherever that might be; whether that’s rehearsing for a performance at Phab, the University-run Youth Club or with the Bristol Umbrella Singers, playing hockey with Lizzie at Access Sport, or at the SENDaWelcome Youth Club for 16-24 year-olds.
Connecting with people her own age and going to social events is definitely high on Mol’s priority list. Mol’s Mum, Lucy, also part of the SENDaWelcome team, smiles when I ask if she’d been along to try the new hockey club too; “I think it’s fair to say that you like doing things without us, if possible, Mol?”
Mol smiles too, nodding, as Lucy goes on; “…getting out without mum and dad is increasingly important.”
At 21, relationships clearly take center stage for Mol, sometimes the actual activity on offer when she goes out is the sideline. This was the case at an adventure at The Wild Place Project with an organization called Pitstop; which involved a high ropes adventure course. Mol wasn’t too keen on the ropes, or the animals, for which The Wild Place Project is known, for that matter: Meeting up with friends from her youth club, with the chance to make more friends at her stage of life, in a new setting, was the draw:
“I went with Pitstop which is run by Uni students, and they take people with disabilities out on different day trips. There’s a lady there who I met at the youth group she mentioned it to me – I thought it would be quite exciting. And I knew a lot of people who were going already.”
Mol’s motivation to create community has carried her through the challenges of her job with Mencap as a Community Connector, a project based out of Bishopston Library on Gloucester Road, but which mainly involves working out in the community. Mol’s role is to talk to people, “we look at how we can make it better for people with learning disabilities in our area,” she explains.
When we met, Mol was due to go to Ashley Down College at the end of the week to speak to a new group of people there, as part of the job.
“It’s a bit scary having to talk to people. especially when I don’t really know them, but I think I’ve got quite used to it. It’s not an easy thing to do but it’s quite exciting at the same time – and also, I get paid!”
As well as the Mencap project Mol is still at Bristol College, where she takes on supported work placements.
“I’m at City Hall sorting out bus passes at the moment with the College – but doing that along with the Mencap project is hard, I’m finding it quite exhausting. It’s a lot!”
Mol says she enjoys both projects for different reasons; she acknowledges there’s a tension between the safety of routine which she gets from the College placements, and the excitement, fear, and freedom that comes when she steps away from what she knows:
“I like structure. The good thing with the City Hall placement is that it’s structured, I know what I’m doing. But for, my paid job, I just have to do it, to see how it goes – it’s hard for me and I’m still getting used to it, but I like it.”
That step into making decisions for herself is becoming more important, but she realizes that the responsibility that comes with decisions is not always comfortable: “I want to make my own choices, but I also like it when people make them for me! “
Outside of work, Mol likes going to the University of West England (UWE) run Phab youth group. Phab inspires and supports disabled and non-disabled children, young people, and adults to make more of life together, to break down community barriers, reduce social isolation, and create opportunities for all involved to enjoy the same activities and challenges side by side.
Lucy explained their history with the group; “Mol’s been going since she was about 15 or 16, and one of the things she’s always loved is that it’s a mixture of university students, who do not have additional needs, and a group of young people of Mol’s age who do have additional needs, but they’re all there together. It creates a really incredible atmosphere.”
“I like it, and I like that the Uni students really like it too,” Mol adds, “we’ve made really good friends. Sometimes I ask them, ‘Do you actually like it?’ And they say, ‘Yeah.’ They genuinely like hanging out, that’s what’s so important – that it’s not false or pretend.”
“We’ve had an organization called Mad Science come in from UWE, we had Access Sport come in to do a sort of mini-Olympics. A lot of the time it’s just the chat that’s the best bit.
“Last week because it was the last session of the year, we had performances, we had pizza, we had colouring in, we spent a lot of time talking. “
Mol performed at the session too, choosing to sing, This is Me from The Greatest Showman. She chose it because, “it’s got energy, and the words make me happy.”
On Wednesdays, Mol has been going to the new youth group for 16–24-year-olds set up by Lucy and Julie from SENDaWelcome. Mol is both gleeful and slightly sheepish that the Mencap My Community project she works on facilitated the funding for the new group:
“We fund community projects to start to happen, and we funded the youth group. I wasn’t sure I’d be allowed to vote on which projects should get funding, but I’m glad I could, and that helped get the project going.”
“There’s a woman called Kate from a group called the Bristol Umbrella Singers who come and do singing sessions. We do art with a lady called Esme and make pizza sometimes. I like to know I’m going there each week.”
Lucy explains that they have some exiting plans for the Youth Group, after eight successful sessions at St Paul’s Adventure Playground they moved to The Vench in Lockleaze and plan more dates there, with musical theatre, creative dance, yoga and street dance all upcoming.
If you know someone interested in joining the SENDaWelcome Youth Club for 16–24-year-olds please get in touch with the team at [email protected] to discuss coming along to the next block.
Find out more about Mol’s favourite places, people, projects, and partners.
Pitstop | Phab | Access Sports | The Bristol Umbrella Singers | The Vench, Lockleaze
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