Jordan began attending Flower Pod Newark in November 2021. His aims were to form friendships, be more sociable, meet new people and maintain independence. When he first arrived at Flower Pod Newark, Jordan struggled to work in groups and often took his breaks outside of the classroom. He was quite shy and quiet, preferring to work alongside volunteers rather than his peer group. He attends ‘Seasonal Gardening’ on Monday afternoons and has extended his Wednesday ‘Healthy Horti’ session to a full day. Jordan has learnt new woodworking skills from our volunteer Richard, and has helped build a bird hide, bird table and nesting boxes. He has shared his new knowledge with other clients, showing them how to saw wood and fix screws and together they have built log edging around borders. Wildlife also interests Jordan; he has mowed paths through the wildlife meadow and, with his peers, set up a wildlife camera.

Jordan has achieved his primary aims in becoming more sociable, chatting to friends he has made during his time at Flower Pod Newark. His confidence and self-esteem have grown. He is very popular amongst his peers and likes to joke with them. Jordan now feels more confident out and about in his community and to engage socially with others. Jordan would like to develop his woodworking skills further into a supported volunteering role, where he can help others to gain new skills.

“I like coming to Flower Pod because it gets me out of the house and I meet more people. I like mowing the lawns and building things. I enjoy making friends – it makes me more confident”. - Jordan