For two of the people that live at one of our Adult homes, travelling is something that has brought them together and created an incredible friendship. Empowered by their team, they have set themselves up to visit a different city a month, getting out and about on new adventures, visiting new places, and developing more independence.
Jessica and Paul have both lived at Riverside for over 10 years, and despite not living in the same property, the team noticed that over the last 12 months, the two had developed a strong friendship. During group activities, they would gravitate towards each other, often asking for the other to join them on days out when they werent together.
From Manchester to Edinburgh
The team noticed the developing friendship between the two, and the impact this was having on their day-to-day lives. With our strong person-centred approach to everything we do, our teams are constantly asking themselves what else they could do to enhance the support and develop greater independence and outcomes.
This is where the ‘City a Month’ idea began.
The idea behind the project was to encourage Jessica and Paul to visit new places and experience new things, including different ways of travelling and varying distances.
Starting their adventures with various Christmas markets, they quickly moved from more local locations like Liverpool and Manchester, branching out to York and even Edinburgh in just a few weeks. Both Jessica and Paul, alongside their teams had an amazing time and it was clear to see that this was something worth continuing.
A support team that makes a difference
The team spent time building Jessica and Paul’s confidence with travelling, using our Bright Futures Active Support approach, pushing themselves to think outside the box at how they can facilitate more for the people they support.
Paul had previously struggled with travel and had been unable to stay in a car for longer than 5 minutes at a time when he first joined Bright Futures. Following their success around reducing his anxieties in the car, they introduced other modes of transport through a range of de-sensitisation work, expanding his confidence and opening up his world and the opportunities available to him.
Ensuring Jessica and Paul felt comfortable and happy was of the upmost importance to their teams, as they knew this would be key to the pair’s enjoyment of their trips. Jessica and Paul were able to choose which of their team they’d like to join them, with support workers often offering to come in on their days off in order to support them.
What is the outcome for Jessica and Paul?
With the support of their team, Jessica and Paul have travelled to over 9 cities since November 2025, well surpassing their 1 new city a month target!
So far, the pair have travelled to:
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Chester
- York
- Edinburgh
- London
- Dublin
- Lille
- Paris
Following their success with UK trips, the team carefully planned and managed a successful trip to visit Disneyland Paris, travelling by car, train and plane and staying for 3 days.
Paul, who had previously struggled with travel, was able to travel in a car all the way to London, before grabbing the Eurostar to Paris. Despite delays, changes to plans and a much longer journey than he’d faced before, he was set-up for success and managed his anxieties extremely well, having a fabulous time on his trip. Thanks to the support of his team, he has come so far with his ‘City a Month’ adventures and has since been able to book a Disney Cruise for his birthday next year.
Jessica and Paul don’t plan on stopping any time soon, with trips to Newcastle and Llandudno already lined up, and many more to come. They plan on coming up with a list of cities they’d like to visit in the future and placing these in a hat for either of them to pull out to decide their next destination.
Shara, Jessica’s keyworker, said: “Jessica and Paul have thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and we’ve had a fantastic time supporting them. Seeing their development and how much they have achieved has been so rewarding. We know they have aspirations to do so much, so we’re encouraging them one step at a time.”
*names have been changed for anonymity purposes
