Speak Out Cambridgeshire at event on preparing for adulthood
Speak Out leaders from Cambridgeshire visited St Ives to offer top tips on housing and employment.
The group were invited to Cambridgeshire County Council’s ‘Preparing for Adulthood’ event at Burgess Hall on Friday 24 March.
Speak Out Cambridgeshire is led by people with learning disabilities and autistic people. They work for VoiceAbility to raise issues that are important to them to professionals who can make a difference.
Elspeth, Bill and Sean at the event in St Ives
Speak Out leaders Sean Nightingale, Bill Jones and Elspeth Jones spoke to around 80 people about their experiences of finding somewhere to live in Huntingdon and Cambridge respectively, while Ashley shared his top tips for getting a job.
Some of Sean’s tips included thinking about what you want to have near you, like shops or buses, and checking what the internet connection is like.
Sean and Neil
His partner’s family also worked with them on skills to prepare them for living together, such as budgeting, household chores, getting along together and improving his cooking ability.
Fellow Speak Out leader Neil Adams, who was involved in organising the St Ives event, said:
It was really exciting to go to the Preparing for Adulthood event because young people have been telling us that they need more information about how to find a job, where they want to live in the future and opportunities to make friends and connections in their local community.
Neil at the event in St Ives
This event was featured in the Cambs Times.
Speak Out Cambridgeshire acts as a voice for people with a learning disability and autistic people aged 14 or above.