Park View is situated in the coastal town of Fleetwood in Lancashire. Originally built on the fishing and railway industries Fleetwood is now known for it’s large market and boasts miles of seafront – from remote beaches to traditional English seaside. It is also just a stone’s throw from the large, bustling seaside town of Blackpool.
We caught up with Bella, who is from the local area and started working at Park View as a support worker over 7 years ago and is now the service manager here.
Tell us about Park View
Park View offers supported housing with extra care for up to 10 men in Fleetwood. It is made up of a large house and 3 dispersed houses in the community. Clients will come to us with various levels of needs such as mental health, physical health, disabilities, addictions or just needing help rehabilitating back into the community.
What is Fleetwood and the area around the service like?
We’re called Park View because of the view of the park we have nearby, which is great for clients to be able to go for walks and get exercise. Fleetwood is not a big town so it’s ideal, they can get everywhere very easily without getting lost – down to the seafront, the shopping village, the doctors etc.
What activities do you get up to to help clients develop and feel at home?
Because we’re a small service everyone is close and we’re available if clients need us. We have a hot meal in the evenings which brings people together. Staff will help prepare meals and encourage clients to get involved with the food and washing up. We’re lucky to have Blackpool on our doorstep. There’s so much to do there and clients really look forward to trips out together each year like to the Pleasure Beach, or the zoo or just spending a day on the piers and seeing the tower and the lights.
What are the encouragements and challenges of the role?
Whenever a new client arrives you really want that client to be a success. But even if this doesn’t always happen quickly. I love being able to celebrate the small successes on their journeys – especially for longer-term clients. Simple things like having a shower that day or staying sober for a short time, these might seem small but they are big steps for some of our clients and it is really important to recognise them.
How does our value of being Christ-like impact your work here?
The fact that we’re a Christian organisation that seeks to be Christlike provides a framework to help us support our clients. It encourages us to be patient, compassionate and caring, all things that are a real benefit to them. First and foremost, we need to see our clients as people, as Christ would, and so our values and ethos help us to do this.
We have a great chaplain, John, who works tirelessly and spends a lot of time visiting each client. He will run a church service here once a month and clients will input into the hymns they sing etc. Even if they are not religious some will still attend and really enjoy it. This is one of the other things that encourages a sense of community.
Want to read more?
Read this article and more in the Autumn/Winter 2024 edition of Breakout
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