Quarry Knowe Court Tenant Testimonials

The residents of Quarryknowe Court are of mixed client groups and the individual needs range across our Mental Health and Learning Disability Services.

Every tenant within the building comes with their own, awe-inspiring story which has led them to a point in their life requiring their own tenancy with 24-hour wrap-around care.

Before moving to Auchinleck, Tenant A lived in his childhood home of 48 years where he lived with his 82-year-old mother and 85-year-old father, both of whom were seriously ill themselves. The old and bold approach from mum and dad was to look after what was theirs and refused support from the Local Authority. Mum, Dad and Tenant A had never spent a day apart and thus resulting in mum and dad never being able to enjoy their retirement and relax in their old age.

Tenant  A was unable to access the upstairs of his home and for 8 years was sleeping in a makeshift bedroom in the dining room. Access to the garden was extremely rare due to the number of external stairs. Even on the sunniest of days, Tenant A would enjoy the sunshine views from his living room chair, often alone.

Tenant  A was well known to services and after several failed attempts over the years to intervene, the H&SCP Housing manager approached his parents at a critical time in their lives when dad was sadly diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. The opportunity for some much-needed carers respite enhanced the comfort of knowing the onsite support plans were enough for mum to agree to a move.

Since the move to Quarry Knowe, Tenant A has “a new lease of life”. He can access the garden any time day or night due to the push to access fob-enabled entry which opens his automatic door. He can wheel himself along the extra wide corridors and push the pad to open the doors into the communal garden.

Tenant  A has been learning to cook for himself and manage his own laundry. His independent skills are growing every single day and he has even made a few friends in the local area in which he visits often with supports.

He takes care of the shrubs in the garden with ease due to the raised planters and he says “I feel safe with the fully enclosed garden”. Tenant A has done very little for himself his entire life and couldn’t work so much as a kettle when he first moved. The difference made in such a short period of time year that he has resided at this supported accommodation has completely and utterly, in every aspect, changed his life for the better.

Mum visits him alone now unfortunately and the joy can be seen in her eyes as she sees her son flourish with his own life in his own protective bubble. Something which mum admits she thought was “impossible and would never happen”.

Another individual who we will call Tenant B has not only moved from an Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) rehabilitation hospital but has also moved back to her home town after 13 long years away from friends and family.

Tenant B required a heavy duty, 24-hour support as she reached a point in her life after decades of alcohol abuse. At the time of crisis, East Ayrshire H&SCP had no such facilities to offer. Tenant B had very limited options and therefore offered a temporary placement in Glasgow. 13 years later and with the notice of Quarryknowe being born, a housing application was submitted and Tenant B was able to move home to her home town (almost) of Cumnock.

Under direction from H&SCP the onsite support staff were able to undergo some ARBD specific training to cater better for her needs and she now walks the corridors of Quarryknowe like she runs the place.

She spent 13 years in a hospital due to the lack of specialised supported housing and now she feels “like I’ve never lived anywhere else”. She likes to “speak with my neighbours and have a cup of tea in the garden” and she says she loves the space she now has too.

Tenant B likes to go shopping in her spare time with support and can often be found dressed up from head to toe in her glad rags making up for the years she couldn’t do so. With the mix of support available on-site 24 hours per day and the promotion for independence as per the H&SCP strategic Plan, Tenant B is again, light-years away from her previous life.

Tenants’ Guardians and loved ones;

“I never thought my son would move out the family home. I thought he would be with us for life, nobody would be able to replicate what we could offer him here and we hadn’t thought about supported housing until my wife was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer.  We looked at supported accommodation nearby and most of what was on offer was very small. My son is over 6 ft and makes himself known, the rooms here are huge and perfect for us. My wife managed to see it before she passed away and wanted to move the full family in.”

“My sister was in a care home due to their being no suitable supported accommodation available. Her tenancy was no longer fit for her needs as she struggled with the stairs and her care needs were not being met by family. When we heard about the new build in our local town, we never thought that we would get her a spot and I cannot tell you the difference it has made to her life. She can use the lift and access the communal garden with ease. She has thought about having her friends over for dinner which is something she would never have dreamed of before. Thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts”.