Oliver O’Rourke, 25-years-old, has a communicative disorder and is also autistic.
When he started to receive support from us at DurhamEnable, Oliver was not engaging with any service to help him into employment or volunteering other than Job Centre Plus.
Initially we worked to increase Oliver’s confidence and self-esteem. We met regularly to build up a rapport and Oliver increasingly raised his confidence by producing an ongoing employment profile setting actions with tasks which he could achieve.
This was all achieved with the backing of Oliver’s Dad, Wayne, who fully supported the decisions made and also Oliver’s choices and control of his situation. We completed an Outcome Star plan to allow Oliver to rate himself and identify his strengths and have reviewed this as his confidence has developed.
We did this by working together and agreeing to undertake the following activities:
- Supporting DurhamHelp
- Supporting local services running at St Steven’s Partnership including volunteering for the Bread and Butter Thing Food Bank and another foodbank in Annfield Plain.
- Attending Autimates which is a social group for those who are autistic.
- Attending the monthly DurhamEnable Forum
These activities have been a huge step for Oliver as he is now enjoying a busy life and has structure to his daily routine. He has also grown in confidence and is now meeting new people and engaging with them. Oliver has certainly come out of his comfort zone and things are looking much more positive for him!
Staff at St Steven’s Partnership have commented how well Oliver is doing in his volunteering at The Bread and Butter Thing and how his peers have embraced Oliver’s contribution.
Oliver’s dad, Wayne, had nothing but praise for DurhamEnable:
My son Oliver was struggling and quite isolated from the community, especially after the Pandemic,
Wayne, Oliver’s dad
The first meeting that we had was very informative and gave us information about groups and services available for Oliver, he jumped on one idea in particular which was voluntary work with a food bank, The Bread and Butter Thing. Oliver is now helping at a second food bank location. He is really coming out of his shell again and enjoys helping others.
I thank them for their support and encouragement for my son.”
If you need additional support getting into employment, start your DurhamEnable journey today by completing our referral form.
