This summer at Sovereign Foyer

It’s been a busy and exciting summer for Sovereign Foyer in Ryde! There’s been plenty going on, from celebrating young people’s achievements to setting up new initiatives to get young people involved – and even receiving an award for the service itself! All the while, the team have been engaging in our FOR Youth quality assurance journey too.

Team Leader Chris Story shared some of the service’s highlights from the last few months.

“Recently, we attended an award presentation on Ryde seafront where we were presented the award by the Ryde Mayor ‘Service that made an Outstanding Contribution during Covid-19.’ The other services recognised were the fire service and a local school. We were very proud to receive this award as the nominations are completed by our local community, and it’s great recognition for our team’s hard work and commitment to our young residents during Covid and recognition of the positive way our Foyer is seen by the community.”

“We have new equipment in our gym and it has reopened for the first time since the pandemic! One of our brilliant Support Workers, Dave (who is also a qualified PT) arranged with a local gym to kindly volunteer their time and skills to put the equipment together for us and prep the gym for opening. The gym has a hugely positive impact on our residents’ physical and mental health, with residents telling us it’s one of our best assets, and we’re all thrilled that it’s back open.”

“We held a Foyer Awards night. We asked residents what the best way would be to celebrate our accreditation and decided on the Foyer Awards night. Residents opted for a buffet meal and had been working on their nominations for a while. Each of our 46 residents all received fun nominations that recognised their individuality. We also (somewhat bravely) asked residents to nominate our team members for awards of their choice. The awards ranged from recognising acts of kindness our residents have done to an award for the “most commendable beard!” Everyone received a little memento of a certificate and a key ring. It was a special evening!”

“Finally, one of our residents wrote a short movie that got screened at a local cinema last night as part of a showcase of local talent. She was lucky enough to be one of the few whose scripts were shortlisted to be made into films featuring local actors. Her movie was based on her experience prior to moving into our Foyer and how she found us (the film actually features one of our team members being played by an actor!). We’re very proud of what she’s accomplished in the time she’s been here at the Foyer and we’re planning to arrange a screening of the film for our residents here at the Foyer soon.”