For a person with a learning disability and/or autism, travelling on public transport can be particularly challenging. Disruptions that may seem small to others - like a bus diversion or a delayed train - can be very stressful for a person with additional needs, who might need accommodations to help them to travel.
Grace Eyre's Travel Buddy scheme works with people with learning disabilities and autism to help them travel with confidence. By the end of the training, users are often able to travel to work, visit friends and enjoy a new independent lease of life.
Founded in 1898, Grace Eyre is a charity that provides assistance across a range of different services, from employment training to independent living support. With roots in East Sussex, the charity runs day services across a weekly timetable, where attendees can take part in life skills training, arts and crafts, sports and more.
New opportunities
Travel Buddy received a £330,000 grant from the Motability Foundation over three years. "It has made an absolutely huge difference in the lives of many people," explains Claire Hudson, Travel Buddy Team Leader. "We have taught people to travel to and from work placements, which has enabled them to get a paid job at the end of it."
The ability to gain and keep employment is a huge benefit of Travel Buddy. Grace Eyre works closely with Team Domenica, an employment charity in Brighton that places learning disabled and autistic people in work placements and equips them with employability skills. "With the young people who are coming through at the moment, they want to have an independent, ordinary life, and so Travel Buddy helps to give them the confidence to try new things and to move away from the family home," says Claire.
Real-life training
Travel Buddy runs sessions in schools and colleges centred on travelling independently. It also offers 1:1 independent travel training - where a travel trainer will accompany an individual on a journey they'd like to take to improve their overall confidence and abilities - and Drama On The Bus, where participants board a real bus and go through different social scenarios.
But Travel Buddy scheme users aren't the only people that reap the benefits of their new independence. It frees up parents and carers' time and reduces stresses. This is particularly helpful where councils are cutting back on funding for home-to-school transport, "which has left a lot of people in limbo", says Claire. "People can't afford the transport to go to the college that they want to. Teaching them how to do that by themselves, and showing them the help that is available to actually enable them to do that, has been absolutely invaluable for our families and carers."
Beyond Travel Buddy
Though Claire finds heading up the scheme a very gratifying experience, the job is no mean feat. Enter the rest of the Travel Buddy team, which includes two travel trainers (soon to be three, thanks to the Motability Foundation) and a Travel Buddy assistant, who participated in the programme before the pandemic. "She comes and helps me deliver the workshops so that people can see that there is life after Travel Buddy," says Claire.
Participating in Travel Buddy can be a life-changing experience for a learning disabled person who feels daunted about travelling. For Claire, seeing the results of the training in action makes it all worth it, "One of the most rewarding things is when I travel throughout Brighton and Hove and West Sussex and I come across people who have done the travel training, and they are still travelling independently. They're always really chatty, and want to tell me about their adventures."
To find out more about Travel Buddy, check out 'Independent Living' on grace-eyre.org.
MIKE'S STORY: LEARNING NEW ROUTES
Though Mike Robinson had taken the bus into Brighton and travelled across the Lanes before, he wanted to start travelling into Lewes. The journey totalled around 90 minutes and went into an area unfamiliar to Mike. Travel Buddy was able to provide 1:1 independent travel training to guide Mike as he learned how to make this journey.
Initially, one of Mike's challenges was dealing with the disruption caused by local roadworks, which affected how the buses were running. He was also unsure which direction to go after stepping off the bus. After a few journeys with his travel trainer, he began to correct himself and turn around if he'd walked the wrong way.
As the training progressed, Mike's confidence grew and he was able to board the bus himself with his travel trainer nearby. In the end Mike worked up to being able to meet his travel trainer at his destination and then plan a new return route into Brighton Station. The one-to-one support from Travel Buddy helped Mike to work through his worries, such as missing the bus, missing his stop or knowing his route. "I know to stay calm if things change and I will find help when I need it," said Mike during his third week of training.
Photos: Travel Buddy
