INTERPLAY

Joiners is a project designed to help young people with special needs to join a local club or regular activity session.

Young people with special needs up to the age of 19.

We have received a grant from the National Lottery Charities Board to run this project for up to 3 years.

Fill in a registration form and return it to us.

Some of the forms we have on file are out of date, with young people perhaps no longer interested in the project or have decided to join a different type of club. We therefore thought it best to re-register everyone so that our new batch of workers will have an up-to-date waiting list to work from. Priority will be given to those who have previously applied and haven't taken part in a "join".

You will be put on the waiting list and we will assign you a key worker who will arrange to visit your home to discuss the type of club or activity you want to join. They will then talk to the organiser of your chosen club and make arrangements for you to join. Your key worker will come with you to the first few sessions to help you get used to your new surroundings.

After accompanying you to your first sessions the worker will gradually "fade" into the background staying up to a maximum of 3 months. You will continue to be a part of your chosen club without their support. The worker is there to help you settle in not to accompany you on a permanent basis.

Our worker will help you find the right club for you. We keep lists of clubs and activities at our main office.

Basically anything you want! The club has to be running on a regular basis throughout the year and not just a one-off or short term activity. Previous Joiners have been involved in Brownies, Scouts, Drama clubs, Swimming clubs, martial arts etc. The choice is yours!

Interplay does not charge for Joiners, however the various clubs may have their own charges which you will have to pay.

I'm afraid Interplay does not provide transport, this is your responsibility, however our worker can help you to find out about public transport.

We will try our best to find something you do like within the 3 months support period. If after this you cannot find something you like we can put you back on the waiting list.

At the moment we can only support you to join one club as we have a lot of young people who want the service. This may change in the future if our waiting list gets shorter.

I'm afraid our workers are there only to support the "Joining" process and are unable to give one-to-one support for this project. This is partly because this would involve longer than the maximum 3 month period but also that the idea behind The Joiners Project is for the young person to take an independent part in their chosen club/activity. However, if you already have a support worker from another organisation who regularly works with you they will be welcome to attend your "joins" with you.