Narrator: Welcome to Backing Your Life Choices. In this short film you will hear real tenents of Margaret Blackwood Housing Associationtalk freely about how their lives have evolved and been enriched by our contemporary housing designs with individualised adaptations, the use if Telecare, and by our ability to offer a range of individually tailored housing supports, care at home, supported accommodation with 24 hour care and support and short stay respite or holiday packages.
The teams across MBHA have learned that supporting others to achieve their best brings out the best in us too. We have listened closely to the people we support. We have translated their dreams into joint action plans and they and our teams have been courageous and flexible in pushing what we do beyond traditional boundaries. That in itself isn’t enough though. We are remodelling our services and expanding our capacity to help outhers according to their individual life choices and dreams. By taking account of peoples changing needs over time we have witnessed their growth in self-esteem and confidence to take ever increasing control of their own lives. We have been privileged to share in that joy that comes from achieving such remarkable outcomes. It all began for us with some simple conversations. Let’s here what some of our tenants have to say:
Pat Spanswick (Raeden Court): My name is Pat Spanswick. I stay at Raeden Court in Aberdeen. I have been here for 7 years and I have given up work now. I’ve got Multiple Sclerosis. I stay here because I like staying here. Its very disabled-friendly and it is just up my street. It keeps me happy. I am a very busy lady. I like to be active and I certainly am active, I’m never in. To catch me in today was a bonus!
I stayed in a flat, a smaller flat in Toray in Aberdeen and it was quite unsuitable for my needs and I needed somewhere that was disabled-friendly that I could move about in. I have my own flat here and it is for independent living if you want it. I do get care come in. It’s my choice of care to help me with personal care. And for meals I have a choice. I personally see to myself most of my time in my flat. But you’ve got the choice that you can go downstairs to the dining room and you can eat there. The choice is always there for the 2 things. But as I said, the great thing here is the backup. I live in this flat with the help of the carers.
Everything here is at the right height for me. The light switches, the bathrooms, the wet floor shower, the kitchen is all lowered. And there are so many aids that I have got in the house just now but you can always get more added. There are rails where I want them but there are so many other things that can be done if I need them. At the minute I can get myself up in the morning and put myself to bed at night. Long may It last but you don’t know what is ahead of you with my illness. But the aids can be put in here. You can get ceiling hoists and things like that which can all make life just that bit more comfortable. And it can be done.
I have no intentions of moving at the moment and hopefully I will be able to stay here in the flat and be independent as long as my body is able. There are people in the building that they’re not able to get out and about the same but theyr’re still in their own flats. They’re just getting a bigger care package, which can be done. I think that’s a thing that can be frightening; the fact that I could end up in an old folks home in amongst dementia patients. And I’m not ready for that yet. I feel I want to have an active life and to do that, to be active, you’ve got to be somewhere where you’re not sitting amongst people that’s sitting in chairs, granny chairs we’ll see all the time. They’re just sitting around doing nothing. You need to have your mind stimulated to keep going. It’s very easy to vegetate and I don’t want to do that. I want to keep going. You can get independent living here and that’s what it is all about. Independent living for younger people without ending up in an old folk’s home, as I said.
Margaret Cowie (Belses Gardens): We go to the pictures, the theatre and the shops and play bingo and quiz nights
Eleanor Cowie (Eday Gardens): The night staff, they help you settle down. I’ve got my telly in my bedroom. I love my telly!
David Black (Belses Gardens): The take me to football. They take you out.
David Hartley (Raeden Court): I go swimming on a Wednesday and I go to excersise classes on a Thursday afternoon and I also go to a club on a Wednesday morning.
Russell Smith (Eday Gardens): Well, I’m a lot more independent. I work 3 days a week through a permitted work scheme.
Scott Robb (St Leonard’s Court): I dance at the volunteer on a Tuesday night and I am a club leader on a Tuesday night as well.
Agnes Bryce (Belses Gardens): You can make a cup of tea whenever you want, tea or coffee, wash dishes, do your laundry. You can do lots of things here that you never could do before.
Frances Crawford (Broom Court): I keep the staff on their toes!
Elliott Hume (St Leonard’s Court): I’m Elliott Hume. I’m originally from Glasgow, living in Ayr now. I heard of this ages ago actually, before it was even built. They came up to see me in Inverness to ask me about it. It was a lot closer to home, but years ago there was nothing like this in this area, so this was ideal. This is my first ever house actually. Everywhere I have been has been like shared, like instition where they give you set times for dinner. But in here you can set your own times.
The support system. You’ve got a handset you can buzz whenever you need assistance for whatever you can’t do really, and the girls will come and assist you to do what you can’t do.
I’ve got an assured tenancy so I’m very confident. I don’t see myself moving out and there is nothing that is going to stop me from staying here I don’t think. I’d never stayed in a house before so it’s been great. I’m loving it! In the 12 years I’ve been here I can honestly say that I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m absolutely delighted I’ve found a flat.
George Boyd (Ballantrae Court): My name is George Boyd. I’ve stayed in Glasgow all my life and I was born in 1953 and I wouldn’t leave Glasgow for anything because I like Glasgow. I liked my swally years ago. I started swallying when I was 16 right. I’m not saying I’m off it. I still take a swally now and again but I’m not the way I used to be. I’ve got a responsibility now whereas when I was out in the hostels I didn’t have a responsibility because I didn’t think. I was pure interested in the bevy and that. That was the only roof over my head. But now I’ve got a responsibility that keeps me right in the head.
They know I can do half of the things myself, right, but it is just the likes of getting the messages and all that, and the rest of the day it is up to me what I want to do.
Sometimes you get lonely, well, I do anyway. Sometimes you get lonely and you like to know that there is somebody there can maybe pull you out of your loneliness or sit and talk to you for 5 or 10 minutes or something like that.
It is the best place I have been yet, in Margaret Blackwood. I honestly don’t think you could find a better place because you’d need to go to a wee bit of bother to get a better place. I’m not saying that Margaret Blackwood has no got better places, but I’m saying I like this place.
It took me a wee while to get used to it, right, because I was all round the hostels roundabout, so it took me a wee while to adapt to having my own house. And then once I got adapted to having my own house I liked it because it shows it’s a wee bit of responsibility for you. Okay, you’ve got all the help you want, but you’ve still got to help yourself a wee bit and that’s what I’ve tried to do and I’m getting on alright so far.
David Hartley: I think hospitals are very good if you are ill, but when you are feeling you are better you want to get out and, like I said before, I have been to many places to have a look, but this is the one place that treated me the best.
Scott Wood (St Leonard’s Court): I like it because it gave me more independence to do stuff in the community.
Russell Smith: I’m comfortable here because I don’t have that much input every day. Because I’ve got epilepsy as well so if I do have one of my turns they are here. If I need to buzz and say “get up here now”, they are here. They do get up here quick when I need them.
Scott Robb: Margaret Blackwood has helped me a lot with my independence and my confidence because I go away now down the town, and I go away on the train in Glasgow because I’m quite an independent person.
Roy Thompson (Eday Gardens): I moved here in ’99 and I’ve been here ever since. It’s a good set up here, like. It’s ace, like! When you’ve got your front door, like its [??????], and, I mean, you wouldn’t get a door to all them other places like. It’s good.
It’s made me look at life in a different way, like. Before I moved to Aberdeen I was staying with my mum and dad for 15 years. But since I’ve moved to Aberdeen it has made my life a lot easier. To not have to ask people when to go to my bed, to complete myself and I go to my bed. Its easy. I mean, when I’m going to my bed I just give them a buzz and say I’m ready for my bed. When I was staying at [BEEP!] I had to go to my bed at half past 10 at night sometimes, and I didn’t like going to my bed early because all the good programmes come on at 10 o clock!
I’ve made a lot of friends. Have you met Russell yet? Aye, Russell’s good. He’s one of the mates I’ve got round here. I’ve got a couple of pals round here but I kind of keep myself to myself. I get out and about with the staff because staff take me bowling or to the pictures. I like to go swimming sometimes but I can’t swim because I’ve hit my leg. I ‘m really wanting to move to Inverurie. There’s no houses out there just now. I’m not wanting to stay in Aberdeen all my life, like. My mum and dad stay out at Huntly. I would really like to move out to Huntly. If there is a place comes up there, I’m putting my name down for it because being in Aberdeen is taking me away from my family up in Inverness. I’m very close to my family and I feel like I’m kind of stuck in Aberdeen.
Aileen McItosh (Broom Court): I’ve been away on holiday. I was away to Wimbledon! It was really great. It was something I always wanted to do and they always try and take everybody on holiday. And I couldn’t because I had Tenerife and things that doesn’t appeal to me. There was one time I was reading a paper and I saw this and I said that’s where I would like to go. So there was this long weekend and it was really great and the 2 support workers who were with me were marvellous.
David Wright (Broom Court): I’m not long back from holiday.
Margaret Cowie: Agnes and I go on quite a few holidays together and we have enjoyed it very much.
Aileen McItosh: I sometimes go out to shows. We sometimes go as a wee group and I sometimes go on my own because of my taste. I like kind of classical music and you know nobody else kind of likes this here.
David Wright: Last November a keyworker took me to the SECC to see Alice Cooper and Motorhead.
Derek Sayers (Broom Court): My name is Derek Sayers. I have lived here for 20 years and loved every minute of it.
Yvonne Sayers (Broom Court): Yvone Sayers, married to Derek. We’ve been married for 24 years and we have been living in Margaret Blackwood for 20 years. Before here we stayed in Stennismuir in a council flat which wasn’t really for a wheelchair, so that’s why we moved through to Margaret Blackwood.
Derek Sayers: I need this, you know, on your own...
Well, we moved here and we knew it was where we wanted to be. In a wheelchair, it has made things a lot easier.
Yvonne Sayers: We’ve lived here, in the Margaret Blackwood, for most of our married lives and when we first moved here probably Derek wasn’t as bad physically and it has just progressed. The illness has progressed and so have the adaptations in the house and that’s been fine, which was good, you know.
Derek Sayers: for 18 years we didn’t need any help. I would say for the last 2 years we’ve needed help and they were here to help us, which was appreciated.
Yvonne Sayers: I think especially when the family was really small, you know, when the kids were really small, it’s good to make sure that there was somebody that was there.
Derek Sayers: I have not worried a minute living in the complex and there’s nothing anybody else should have. Mind you, when the boys leave we can think about a smaller house.
Yvonne Sayers: We didn’t have all the family when we moved here. You know, every time we have moved we seem to have added to the family, so we’re not moving again!
Narrator: Margaret Blackwood Housing Association is Scotland’s leading provider of housing and support services for disabled people and their families within integrated communities. We have nearly 1600 houses and apartments across the Scottish mainland. They’re built in small developments that are close to shops and other amenities that help the tenants build connections with the wider local community.
We can provide support services at 20 of these developments, and can also offer these support services to the wider communities surrounding them.
We employ over 450 people and almost 75% of these are involved in directly providing tailored support and care. The people we support, sometimes in a very personal or intimate way, can be secure in the knowledge that our in-house recruitment and training professionals carry out all the necessary checks before new team members are appointed and that every team member undergoes continuous training to ensure they perform at a high level of competence.
We even employ our own highly experienced health and safety officer to identify assess and minimise risks and champion awareness of safety issues wherever our staff work.
Naturally, we work closely with both the Care Commission and the Scottish Social Services Council. As a recognised Scottish Charity, we are focussed on the people we support, not on profit. We are committed to backing each individual’s life choices.
Scott Robb: It was very difficult to get a place with care and that. The only other option was a nursing home and I did not fancy going to a nursing home.
Agnes Bryce: Well, it’s been the best thing that has happened to me.
Scott Robb: I’m just free to do what I want like anybody else is. And I’ve got my choices and I’ve got the care support there if I need it.
Eleanor Cowie: I’m going to stay here till I die. I’m not going into a home. No way. No Way.
George Boyd: I’ve begun to get my life back, which I didn’t think I would get back.
Pat Spanswick: I think Margaret Blackwood is an excellent place for people to stay because they are very much so focussed on disabled people and they know what people need, and it is excellent.
Scott Robb: I just think it is a marvellous place and I hope to stay here for a long time yet.
Narrator: This film is dedicated to Agnes Bryce, our friend and tenant for 12 years, who passed away shortly before this film was completed.
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