After years of careful planning, Paul is finally moving into his own flat.
For a long time, Paul has been collecting items to furnish his new home for when it was time to move on from Shared Lives South West. His dream has now become a reality…

Paul, was fostered by Kim and Chad Chadfield when he was just nine years old and transitioned to Shared Lives South West when he was 18. Kim and Chad become SLSW Carers at the same time.
Thanks to their support and laying the foundations to move on, plus Paul’s own determination he now has his own flat around 20 minutes walk away from the home he shared with Kim and Chad.
“I can’t wait for him to move out, It’s been a long time coming,” joked Kim, lovingly.
“I can’t wait to have more freedom,” Paul joked back.
Kim and Chad have been helping Paul to get his new pad ready to move in and have been cleaning and painting it, with the hope of moving in very soon. His new home is overseen by Holywell Housing Trust.
To ensure he had everything he needed when he moves in, Kim and Chad have been helping him understand and work out finances and saving and he managed to save £5,000 to make sure he could kit out his new home with what he needs.
“Everything has been stored in hallways and all over the place at the house I’ve lived in with Kim and Chad,” said Paul.
“Paul has been planning this for so long, but because of Covid-19 it all slowed right down, then all of a sudden he got this flat,” said Chad.

Support from Kim and Chad won’t stop overnight and they will continue to offer enabling support as he settled into his new home.
“They will carry on helping me with finances and cooking,” said Paul.
“Paul has a bowel condition, so cooking is important,” said Kim.
“I can do basic stuff, I do make a super special soup where I put loads of veg in a saucepan,” added Paul.
Over time, Kim and Chad have helped build Paul’s confidence. He’s attended Maths and English classes to help grow his skills and also now works two hours a day cleaning the local post office. His hours were upped during the pandemic to help with deep cleaning.
Paul has grown into a confident and able person who is now comfortable and confident in his own skin and is open about his sexuality.
“I feel happy and I’ve accepted who I am,” he said.
“Kim and Chad have also been brilliant about it and supported me with it.”

The door will always be open at the Chadfield’s for Paul, who is part of the family and he even changed his own surname to Chadfield to match Kim and Chad.
“I’ll be back down there every day to see the pets,” joked Paul.
“We won’t be able to get rid of him that easily,” added Kim.
Claire Bettinson, Shared Lives Coordinator at Shared Lives South West, said: “SLSW has supported Paul since he transitioned to Adult services. It has been a pleasure supporting him and seeing him mature to independent man with a bright future ahead of him. We wish him all the best luck in his new home.
“I know how excited Paul is about having his own home and how much he values the support he gets from his SLSW Carers Chad and Kim who will stay in touch with him and continue to support him during the next steps of his life.”