Gail was referred to Care Plus Group for support from the Intensive Support Team (IST), as she had lost a loved one and needed some help to get back into some positive routines. With the later passing of her budgie, Joey, she was now struggling and needed some company and support.
Sue Sparkes-Tedde, Gail’s Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner, noticed Gail’s lack of motivation and wanted to help her get a new bird friend. Sue set to raising money with teams that work in the Queen Street Centre. There were generous donations from the Community Learning Disability Team, the Forensic Outreach Liaison Service and the Intensive Support Team and in under 10 minutes, she hit her goal!
The next time Sue and Gail met, they went to buy Joey the Third, Gail’s new budgie.
Now, Gail tells us that Joey the Third is settling in well at her home and she is delighted with his company.
We asked Gail what she wanted to say to Sue and the people that helped raise money for her. She said:
“I can’t thank everyone enough. I love my new boy – he is my little ‘show budgie’!
“I cannot thank [Sue] enough. [She] is so good to me. I do not know what I would have done without you. I appreciate everything [she] does for me.”
We asked Sue about her experience supporting Gail. She said:
“Gail has been through a difficult time in her life and has been through a lot of loss. Then, she was devastated to lose her budgie, Joey, as her pet brought her much comfort and company. I wanted to get her a new one to help her well-being and to give her a new purpose of something to care for.
“I collected the money from staff teams based at Queen Street and the money needed was raised in less than ten minutes. I am proud to work with such great people who care about others in the community.”
