Jerry's story

Jerry with Tony and volunteers Arne and Carlo

Getting out and doing things is important to Jerry. Living with both a learning disability and a mental health condition, he values his own space but likes to keep busy and spend time with other people.

Visits from Support Workers several times a week help Jerry to stay on top of bills, banking and medical appointments. Our paid staff provide sleep-in support every night to ensure Jerry is safe in his rented home. Jerry's brother lives nearby and calls to see him regularly.

Volunteering on reception at our local office once a week, playing pool and football with staff and volunteers and dancing the night away at the Bubble Club, give Jerry active social life. Jerry's big passion is art. He has been supported and encouraged by Advance to develop his creative skills and arts practice. In addition to attending the weekly photography group run by Advance, Jerry is also supported to attend studio sessions at ActionSpace, a London based visual arts organisation which support artists with learning disabilities.

Jerry is a resident artist at ActionSpace’s Cockpit Arts Tuesday Studio, whose artists tend to work in drawing, painting and sculpture. Jerry’s large drawings and paintings echo his unique interpretation of the natural world, and he uses broad, vibrant strokes of colour in pastel and oils – often combined – to create stunningly bold paintings of plants, flowers, tropical birds and more. Jerry was recently featured in an exhibition run by Cockpit Arts Studio at Kentish Town City Farm’s Apple Festival. The artists in this exhibition worked together on a group project inspired by the natural environment, and their work was publicly displayed to the large crowds of people who attended. Advance are proud to work with Jerry and hope he inspires others to be creative!

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