Zach, who has a learning disability, is the Inclusion Project worker for Grace Eyre’s Travel Buddy Project.
In April 2021, the Travel Buddy project completed a series of three workshops at East Sussex College in Eastbourne. The workshops helped pupils with learning disabilities at East Sussex College to rebuild travel confidence lost during the pandemic, understand the benefits of independent travel, stay safe in the community and on public transport, and to advise on what changes to expect on public transport due to Covid-19.
The workshops were the first time that Zach had given a talk to a class of his own peers. He said:
‘it was a great experience speaking my peers; being able to talk to a large group of people has helped my self-confidence.’
Since then Zach has helped to present Travel Buddy Taster Workshops for Team Domenica at All Saints Church in Hove. Zach has gone from strength to strength while delivering these workshops, from being very anxious about presenting a small section of the session, to working through his anxiety by asking to present more sections with each subsequent workshop. He has also demonstrated a great affinity with the workshop participants, some of whom he knows personally.
Get in touch to find out more travelbuddy@grace-eyre.org