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An online love story
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Paige and Oliver are a young couple, who are both supported by Choice Support. Sara Dean, Choice Support Homes’ Manager in Cheshire, tells us about supporting Paige and Oliver to keep in touch during these difficult times.
“Paige lives in a supported living house with her two housemates, and Oliver lives at home with his mum and brother. During the lockdown, Paige chose to move back to her parents’ home and spend quality time with them. Paige and Oliver have a lovely relationship. In normal circumstances, Oliver would cycle over to Paige’s home, and with staff support they would chat, watch TV and go out to their favourite places.
During the pandemic, Paige and Oliver have been supported to keep in touch and chat regularly on the phone. But last month, for Valentine’s Day, we thought that it would be a great idea for Paige and Oliver to ‘see’ each other. The couple were very keen and so our team organised for them to have a chat online. The technology wasn’t as straightforward as we had first imagined it to be, because their phones did not have FaceTime available. We worked around this and used Facebook Messenger. I could not be with Paige or Oliver in person, to arrange this, but with the help of their parents, we were able to set everything up. Paige and Oliver sent each other Valentine’s cards and enjoyed a special Valentine’s meal that night whilst chatting away.
I love, that in this day and age, we can support people to keep in touch with their loved ones. Paige and Oliver have since chatted again using Facebook Messenger, and plan to do it again soon. They can’t wait for the day when they can see each other in person to have that all important hug that we all yearn for.”
Our Supported Loving human rights campaign highlights the need for good support around relationships for people with a learning disability and/or autism. Visit the website to find out more.