Norwood has been awarded an incredible £235,000 by the Big Lottery Fund for an innovative project which uses SMART phone technology to help people with learning disabilities acquire key travel skills and thereby become more independent. Freedom through Travel, is a three-year scheme which begins in June, and will provide travel training to 88 adults who use Norwood’s residential and supported living services.
Angela Duce, Norwood’s Head of Adult Learning Disability Services, said: “Learning how to travel safely from A to B is a vital life skill, which most of us take for granted. However, for a person with a learning disability, it can often be a significant obstacle on the road to independence, especially for those who want to enter the world of work. Thanks to the Big Lottery Fund, we will be able to help the people we support to overcome this obstacle, enjoy greater freedom in their lives and, importantly, become more integrated in their communities.”
Norwood will now employ two experienced Travel Trainers for 12 months, one based in London and the other in Ravenswood, Norwood’s residential community for adults with learning disabilities in Berkshire. During the first year, they will teach 16 adults the skills to travel independently on one regular and consistent journey, including road safety, the use of public transport, community awareness and what to do when things go wrong.
They will also teach travel training techniques to 16 Norwood staff. These staff will become accredited Travel Trainers and will, in turn, teach up to a further four trainees over the course of the second and third year. After three years, it is expected that 88 people who use Norwood’s services will have undergone travel training.
The funding will pay for the salaries of the specially trained Travel Trainers and cover the cost of taking the Norwood staff away from their usual support duties during the training. Part of the grant will also be used for the purchase of innovative SMART phones with specialist travel training software installed. This software will help people to remember their journey and also contains GPS tracking which will notify staff if a person has gone outside of their normal route and will help to locate them easily.
Gregory Portnoi, 63, who lives in Norwood Supported Living accommodation in Muswell Hill, has benefitted from travel training. “The travel training went well,” he said. “I’m pleased I had a travel trainer. I now travel from my house in Muswell Hill to Stanmore and back again. I am starting a new job soon and will learn the route to travel there.
“I feel important and more able. I’m really happy, I feel like a grown up person. I don’t need any support from anyone now. Before travel training I used to get taxi’s everywhere and I had to pay a lot of money. I feel a lot happier.”
