‘They made his life fantastic’: Pat and Janis thank United Response staff and fund ‘Roy’s Place’ in memory of their brother

After the winter, residents and their families got together for a grand opening of Roy’s Place in April this year.

Guests enjoyed barbecue food and cakes and the local town crier attended to kick off proceedings.

Pat and Janis were really pleased with how it looked.

Janis said:

It was a fantastic idea.

They’ve got a tree of life which Debbie had done with ‘Roy’s Place’ written underneath.

It’s so nice that they’ve got somewhere outside they can go.

Someone we support also donated some money for furniture to go inside the lodge.

Fond family memories

Roy’s eldest sister Pat lives in Cornwall. She has fond memories of Roy from when they were children:

“There was an affinity between Roy and I.

“Mum let me help feed him and bath him and change him. We were very close indeed. I miss him terribly.”

Janis lives in Southampton with her husband and used to love visiting Roy so they could all go out for lunch:

“He was always a very happy person.

“He was always up for a laugh. That’s the thing I remember him best for – his love and humour.”

Fighting for fairness

Both sisters described how hard their parents had to fight for Roy when he was younger:

“There was absolutely nothing for children with Down syndrome – no education for them at all.”

“Mum and Dad got together with another couple with a disabled child and they fought like mad to get somewhere for these children to go.”

Janis believes that some things have gotten better, but said that people with disabilities and their families still have to go through a lot of battles:

“People are no longer hidden away which is a great thing.

“Sadly, there are still some adverse reactions.  I think the general public need to be educated and a bit more understanding.

“Also a lot of families still have to fight like mad to get the services they need, not just adults with learning disabilities but people with any disability. I think that’s really sad and that has to change.”

Above and beyond

Movie lover Roy loved to dress up. He would often wear a tuxedo and play the part of James Bond.

Pat and Janis explained how Roy’s life changed for the better when he started being supported by United Response.

Janis said:

I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending United Response.

The staff at Wallner just seemed to click with him and made his life wonderful. We were very happy when he went there.

They obviously loved Roy and Roy loved them. They were so considerate about his needs, not just his but all the residents.

He ‘loved the finer things in life’ and was supported by staff at Wallner to travel around the world:

Pat explained how staff used to drop Roy off to visit her in Cornwall. When Pat’s son got married in St Andrews in Scotland, Roy was supported to fly up for the wedding:

“I can’t praise the staff enough. The word thank you seems so small for what they’ve done for our family.

“Debbie and Susie in particular – talk about above and beyond.”

Pat explained how the staff team at Wallner kept in contact when Roy became ill:

Roy thought they were all marvellous. He always used to say to me that he had two families – the Hunt family and the Wallner family.

They kept in touch with us all along the way. They never left him – there was someone with him all the time.

His life was fantastic. They made his life fantastic.

Christmas with two families

Lead Senior Support Worker Debbie Hellyer knew Roy for 20 years:

He was a great guy and I miss him. He was lovely to support.

Debbie said Roy was a keen planner. She has fond memories of choosing the menu for Christmas Day together:

“We’d always have salmon and scrambled eggs and Bucks Fizz for breakfast. Dinner would be the full works with all the extras and then it would have to be Christmas Pudding with a bit of brandy sauce. He’d doze in the afternoon with mince pies and then we’d have a cheeseboard for tea with trifle for pudding!”

“He was always the one getting amongst it all and putting the tree up. He used to love going Christmas shopping and buying presents for his family. He adored his sisters.”

Debbie added:

He loved the bungalow.

He would have loved that lodge too. I’m so sorry he didn’t get to see it.

Debbie and Roy planned his funeral together. He wanted any donations from the funeral to go to a stroke charity, he wanted to wear his tux and he wanted them to play the song ‘So Long, Farewell’ from his favourite musical, The Sound of Music.

Supporting people to make their own choices

Debbie explained how being a support worker also means empowering people to make their own choices:

You’ve got to be caring to do this job. You’ve got to enjoy supporting people to achieve the things that they want to achieve.

We want to give people the best quality of life possible.

We support people to go to the cinema, go clothes shopping, to go to the garden centre.

We’re making sure that people have the rights and choices that others take for granted. That’s important.

Could you support someone to do the things they love most?

We’re currently recruiting support workers across Felpham – find out more.

• Jenna Lloyd is Senior Content Officer for United Response.