“I’m doing a diploma in business at Ara Institute of Canterbury. I started doing four courses this year. I did a certificate in business at Ara last year. I like numbers, I like logic. I’m good at spreadsheets. It was a pretty major achievement for me because I was doing NCEA Level 3 as well.…
“We moved in with Mum and Dad in their four-bedroomed Horotiu house. There were eight of us in all. We enjoyed it, we found it a bit easier. It was good having them all around. Everyone who stayed here are Te Aurere’s favourite people. We thought during Lockdown we were going to be with Te…
“Before Lockdown I was going out, going to the gym, going shopping, met up with my mum once or twice a week and my support worker would take me op shopping, I love op shopping. And then Covid-19 happened. At the time there were five of us living here, then Steve died. He had Huntington’s…
Andy spends Monday to Friday at Hearth Trust and goes home to live with his parents at weekends in Trentham. When Level 4 was announced support workers and Andy’s family discussed the best option for his support, and due to respiratory health issues he had in 2019, decided that being home with his parents and…
“Lockdown was pretty good because I could TikTok and I did classes with my tutors. I was calling my tutor and my friends during Lockdown. I downloaded TikTok on the app, it was easy from the store. I have two accounts; I use one for my Snapchat. I have followers from all over the world.…
“I like to keep busy and go out and do lots of things. During Lockdown I couldn’t go out and do my usual activities but I liked being home with the staff all the time. I love the staff. I go to WelTec three mornings a week. I leave at 8.30 to catch the bus.…
“One of the biggest things in my life is my doll collection that I keep in my room. I have over 300 dolls from 52 nations. I started collecting them when I was 12 because Mum and my step-dad went overseas and brought me a doll back. I already had some dolls. I had won…
“I like to keep my unit nice – the kitchen clean, the carpet vacuumed, the lawns done and the pots and garden nice and tidy. During Lockdown I did it all by myself, I did everything, it pushed me into going that little bit further and achieving a little bit more every day. When it…
“When Lockdown came, I think it just didn’t sink in. The first week was okay. We got up early, went for walks and I would show Harper McDonalds is closed and all these places are closed. We had to go walking early in the morning, so we were walking at 5.45am. That’s because when he…
“Living with my friends was a good thing about Level 4, but there were things that were not very good, so I had to get out of there. But that was okay, I have always been unsettled, always ready to move, it’s just what I was used to. There were times during Lockdown when I…