Grapevine’s well-established Help and Connect project is for people with a learning disability or autism to make a plan, get connections, get work, stay healthy and stay safe.
Working with adults aged 18 plus across Coventry, Michelle Reid has been connecting, strengthening and readying people for new opportunities for the last few years. Help and Connect began in the city over a decade ago.
She says: “The project is to help people living in the city who are not receiving support from social care, including those who may be undiagnosed, to build better futures that are open to possibilities like anyone else.
“We shape our support around the person – planning together and addressing their most pressing needs before moving on to equipping them with skills, knowledge, self-management tools and support networks in preparation for what’s next in their lives.”
Do you know someone in your professional or personal life who could benefit from Help and Connect? Could Grapevine help them to get ahead of their problems and build friendships and connections that stand the test of time?
If so, please get in touch. Email Michelle at mreid@grapevinecovandwarks.org for a referral form. Forms can also be completed over the phone with Michelle and other Help and Connect team members: Kitty, Danny, Bev, Emily, Alice or Kelly.
Watch and read some examples of our work with local people in action below. Help and Connect forms part of our Strengthening People strand of action at Grapevine. It is commissioned by Coventry City Council.
Getting work
Watch Quentin’s story of finding work at The Village Hotel in Coventry by clicking this link.
Click this link to read Zach’s story of embarking on a career as an assistant in the kitchen of a Michelin star chef – finding an encouraging boss, new circle of friends and independence in his own home all at once.
Staying healthy
Making connections
Video description: This is a photo collage video showing a weekly craft group at Bell Green Library. The group was created with help from Grapevine in response to a need for a smaller, more close-knit social group for local people with learning disabilities. People in the video are seen making things together, including cups of tea, and enjoying one another’s company around a table inside the library.
The rising cost of living
The cost of living crisis is being felt in Coventry and Warwickshire as much as anywhere in the UK. At Grapevine, we are seeing the financial concerns of people with a learning disability or autism intensifying as the weeks roll by.
Here are some resources that may help.
Follow this link to read about Coventry Poverty Alliance, plus a case study illustrating what we are seeing at Grapevine as living costs continue to rise.
Quick money saving tips from Act On Energy. Call their free phone number for impartial advice on 0800 988 2881.
Help with budgeting and the rising cost of living from Coventry Independent Advice Service.