This week we spoke with Charlotte, a resident at Mandalay , our all-female residential care home in Essex. When we spoke to Charlotte in June earlier this year, she had gained an abundance of confidence in less than 12 months of moving to Mandalay! Now, she loves her independence and doing things for herself.

Since then, here’s what Charlotte has been up to…

The Mandalay service are committed to creating a friendly environment and encouraging independence. For example, they have a garden patch in the well-kept garden where residents can grow a plot if they so choose.

Charlotte has created a garden patch just for herself, which she has meticulously maintained and cares for throughout the year. Carrots, curly kale, and beetroot are among the delicious vegetables she has grown! She is also tending to some flowers in her area in addition to vegetables. Charlotte loves Christmas and has  even made a Christmas tree patch complete with winter decorations.

When Charlotte is not busy working away in her garden patch, she deserves a break! In the summer, she had an over-night stay at Paulton’s Park, a theme park in Hampshire. Here she thoroughly enjoyed Peppa Pig World – this was her first holiday since moving to Mandalay.

What’s next for Charlotte?

One of Charlotte’s personal goal for 2022 is to achieve her Slimming World goals, which she will begin in January. She will attend weekly sessions to develop a plan personalised to her needs, which will include deciding what healthy dishes she will prepare with the Mandalay team!

Next year, she also has plans to continue her weekly visits to Salvation Army’s training centre and Hamelin Trust, which is a day centre that offers Charlotte community-based opportunities. These opportunities  will help Charlotte to continue building her personal with enjoyable activities.

And, of course, Charlotte is looking forward to planting more vegetables to use for more tasty dinners, as well as planting other beautiful flowers in her patch.

Learn more about Mandalay

Based in Essex, Mandalay provides loving, caring and inclusive nursing care and support to female adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs. To find out more about Mandalay visit our Mandalay service page. Here you can also watch our virtual tour of the service.

• 
• autism
• residential care