autismcornwall

During our latest recruitment campaign we wanted to shine the spotlight on our support staff, giving people an insight into the reasons why they joined Green Light and what skills and experience they have brought to the job. Those thriving in the role see it as a vocation, an opportunity to improve someone’s life as well as enriching their own daily work experiences.
David Churchill is a deputy manager working at Holywell Bay in Newquay. Having grown up in South Africa and travelled the globe, studying horticulture with the Dutch Botanical Gardens, living on a kibbutz (commune) in Egypt and latterly working as a carpenter in Cornwall, he uses his life skills to great effect while supporting the people in his care.

Dave Churhchill, left, with the Littlecroft team.
He is currently studying a psychology degree with the Open University and says of his role with Green Light: “I came to Cornwall wanting to surf. I have always had an interest in psychology and joined a local care provider suppo…

Farewell Anna Vagena, I will miss your lively Skype chats with your family back home in Greece and your weekly offerings of home cooked bread and cake. Anna, 21, arrived on our shores in February, keen to learn more about our Cornish ways and to gain an insight into how we run Green Light.
Having grown up in the tiny mountainous village, Planitero, 200 miles from Athens, her three month visit was the longest that she had ever stayed away from home. The young business administration student was unphased by her new surroundings and impressed her new colleagues with her youthful enthusiasm.

Anna getting into the swing of it  with Ryan Smith, manager at Big Wig, in Newquay, during Gemma and Ricky’s wedding party in Falmouth.
Anna graduates from the University of Patras in Peloponnhsos, in June, where she spent time working on the PAVEFS programme - an Intelligent IT platform for supporting people with autism, funded by the Greek Ministry of Health. Green Light is part of a 100-strong deve…

Free workshops on autism and other complex needs and what happens post-diagnosis, hosted by Kehelland Trust and supported by Green Light PBS Ltd.
“Challenging behaviour should not limit an individual’s life.  A diagnosis is not the end of the story, but the beginning.  We need to give people the skills to lead fulfilling lives, not limit their experiences and opportunities,” Jon Hull, Prospect PBS Training Ltd.
Jon Hull is a registered learning disabilities nurse and former health and safety inspector who provides specialist training that draws upon the current principles of Positive Behaviour Support, (PBS) giving carers the knowledge and guidance to better support adults and children with autism, learning disabilities, Aspergers Syndrome and mental health difficulties.
He is staging a free workshop at Kehelland Trust’s Open Day on May 30, 11am to 12pm,  which is open to parents, carers, teachers, volunteers and anyone else wanting to gain an insight into what happens following a diagn…