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The project will improve the quality of life of young people aged 16-25 who have learning disabilities and help to broaden their horizons and explore the choices open to them. It will achieve this through a befriending service involving groups of 3 service users and 3 volunteer peer mentors
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Situation
The service is being developed in response to recommendations in Interest Link's 2007 independent evaluation and a high level of demand from service users and providers, The service users will all be young people aged 16-25 with moderate to severe learning disabilities who are in transition from childrens’ to adults’ services. The service is based on the Fairway Project in Ayrshire and will involve staff-supervised groups of three young service users linked with three young volunteer mentors. It differs from Interest Link's main service which is based on 1:1 befriending links: the befriending groups will enable the involvement of younger volunteers and provide service users with the group social network that they lack so greatly. In addition to improving quality of life, the new service also aims to broaden the horizons of young adults with learning disabilities and explore the choices open to them. It will do this by involving the groups in facilitated lifeskills workshops in addition to regular social activities. Each of Interest Link's four branches will operate 1 group in 2008-09 and 2 groups in each of the next two years. This will help a total of 45 young people.