Father and son share their stories

Over 80 people attended the recent Mencap meeting ‘Having a good day’, which explored what needs to be done so that people with a learning disability can enjoy the day services and day opportunities they want and need.

All of the views expressed by participants at the two round table sessions will be highlighted to the Trust.

Neil Jelly, a 31-year-old young man from Banbridge with a learning disability spoke about his experiences of day opportunities. These currently involve a number of activities each week and a work placement in the Downshire Arms Hotel.

Neil said, “What makes a good day opportunity for me, as someone with a learning disability, is a day that allows me to socialise, encourages me to learn and gives me a choice in the things that I do. I also want it to change during the week and over the years so I am not doing the same things.

“I like day opportunities that will help me move on in my life, like learning new skills to get a job. The only thing I would change about them is to have more of them, especially in the evenings and weekends,” he said.

Neil’s father, Michael Jelly, also spoke at the meeting, saying that Neil’s day opportunity journey began 15 year’s ago when he was 16. “From my perspective, what makes a good day opportunity for me as a parent is to see that Neil is kept active, that there is a variety of activities to keep him engaged and that he participates in things that he is interested in to generate hobbies and further involvement in other activities.”