R came onto the project as inactive on ESA. She was referred through the Ingrid at Newquay job centre in May and was at a position to move forward with her life, but needed support with this. R already volunteered as a dog warden for the National Trust, and really enjoys being outdoors, and in nature. R did not have any I.D for the project, so we ordered a birth certificate to support with future jobs applications and I.D.

Because R had not worked or really interacted with a people for a while, we looked at wavs to build up her confidence and self esteem in a supportive environment, and we arranged to look around Newquay Orchard to see if this would be a good place to start.

After meeting at Newquay Orchard R was keen to volunteer and has not looked back since! In addition to this volunteering once a week, we also funded through the project 6 counselling sessions for R as she felt as ready as possible to confront her past. R’s counselling was online, but she did not have a laptop or tablet that could support this, so arranged a tablet from digital inclusion to support with this.

During the time on the project we also looked at other volunteering opportunities for R. R enjoys working with animals, so looked at
opportunities nearby, including RSPCA, Hugs and Flicka foundation. R will look at these in the new year, now her counselling has finished. R will continue to get support through Newquay Orchard.

Through volunteering at the Orchard, R has found a good support network of like minded women, who now regularly meet up, and she has found the gardening sessions therapeutic. R has also been able to access the other sessions and courses that are running at the orchard, such as mindfulness and the Pentreath recovery college courses.