At Brandon Trust, support is designed with one purpose: to enable people with learning disabilities and autism to live the lives they choose.
For Alex, this was finding meaningful work through Brandon’s Adventurers, a team of people supported by Brandon who are also paid consultants delivering expert guidance on projects at Brandon and for other organisations. This is his story.
A different world
“I was living in London before I joined Brandon and I wanted to move to Cornwall. My mum done a quick search and found Brandon. Living and being supported in London was not so nice. There were a lot of gangs, muggings, stabbings and I didn’t feel safe anymore. The old place didn’t give me the care and support I needed at a very difficult time for me and I was very unhappy.
I joined Brandon in 2015 and moved to Padstow. When I arrived I felt like a was stepping into another time zone and different world. I met my housemates and my team and started my Cornish life. I love Brandon Trust support, it’s so different. If I need to talk, I can. They will talk to me like an adult.
Getting involved
“I joined the involvement team a few years ago, but I was not in the right place then. I was slacking on work and not paying attention because I was drinking and smoking as I was still dealing with the loss of a loved one. I explained this to Rachel (Brandon’s Head of Involvement) who works with the Adventurers and we kept in touch – the door was always open for me to join back in.
Nathan, one of the other Adventurers, asked me if I was coming back to work at the beginning of 2024 and I just told him to ‘give me time to think about it’ which I did and now I’m back, better than ever, and ready to listen to others. It makes me feel really good being part of the team again, and I’m so proud of myself.”
Raising awareness
For Learning Disability Week 2025, Alex took part in a webinar for healthcare professionals run by Sirona Health and Care, where he spoke about his experiences with a learning disability and the ways he has been supported to live a healthier life. He also explained how having meaningful paid work as an Adventurer has changes his life for the better.
He said: “Before Brandon I was at rock bottom. I was drinking and reaching a breakdown and knew I had to do something. I went to my team and said I would like to do something about the way I am. The feelings at the time was depressed and lonely.
“If the team had kept saying to me that I had to change when I wasn’t ready, that would have made me anxious and upset – it needed to be my decision and choice. It takes a lot of willpower so it will never work if the person isn’t ready.
“My team then worked with me and put me in touch with Steve who runs a local walking group. This group is open to anyone. When I went there they explained the choices of portions of food and they explained the decisions that you make when you make decisions about what you eat and also tell you to get a food diary. It was very interesting to meet people the same as me who were struggling with their weight and their mental health.
‘My confidence started to grow’
“I felt blown away when I completed my first walk, it was a special moment for me. I felt on days like I couldn’t be bothered, but you need to have the motivation to commit to it and do it. Staff need to say “make the right choices” and they need to ask for more advice. They need to watch some healthy videos and get a real understanding of what they are saying to them. Staff need to celebrate and motivate the people we support to find more goals like I have done. I didn’t just want to do the walking group, I wanted to do football too, and now I am.
“As I started to lose weight I started to feel more like myself. My confidence started to grow, and more opportunities started coming my way. It all started unfolding.
“Becoming an Adventurer is the best thing I ever done and it’s one of the best jobs you can ever get. It’s one of those jobs you can’t get anywhere else.
“I feel this way because now I can talk to people and tell them what it felt like for me, so other people don’t have to experience some of the things that I have.
“Having this job has improved my mental health – talking about it, coping with it and using it as a tool to help others feels amazing.
“I now have a purpose and understand what that is. Without this weight-loss journey, I would never be here – I tried to join the Adventurers team a few years ago but was not in the right headspace so I decided to leave. I’m so happy to be back and now be a permanent member of the team.”
To find out more about more about how Brandon’s Adventurers could support your organisation, email involve.me@brandontrust.org