Fiona

I have been a student at Upmo for 8 years, my time here is the best experience of my life, in more ways than one. The staff have picked me up when I feel down, its a home, a community and the workshops we have done are like no other place.
I’ve done so many amazing projects, a highlight was with world renowned musician, Dame Evelyn Glennie. Using the imuse suite, I created an enhanced sensory experience with sound, vibration, movement and visuals. I created many pieces, my best being a 16 minute long story narrated by myself.  You can read more about this project here.
Through the pandemic, even though times were tough, I was still able to receive 1:1 support at home which was incredibly helpful not only to myself, but my Dad as well. During lockdown, my home support stopped getting funding for my daytime care, which was really worrying, but Upmo were able to step in. The staff at Upmo are very encouraging, they do so much in helping support my mental health and well being, as well as self actualisation.

Upmo have helped me grow as a young person, and as much as I would like to be at Upmo forever, I need to keep growing, maybe outisde of Upmo. The staff are incredibly supportive of this and Claire (Head Of Operations) has been helpful in putting me in contact with Real Jobs, where I can gain more independence through employment. This next chapter in my life is very exciting.