Truro woman with learning disability went from being homeless to a company director

Growing up, Sam Avery never believed she would be successful in life. Having been diagnosed with a learning disability and ADHD, she was frequently bullied at school and never enjoyed being in education.

It wasn’t until several years ago when Sam became homeless and began receiving support from the housing association and social enterprise, Home Group, that she found herself presented with an opportunity to use her experiences to help others.

The team at Home Group helped Sam find a home in Truro within three months and soon after, she started volunteering her time with them through their engagement team. Over time, Sam found her confidence was growing and felt that she was ready to apply for a job - something she said had never crossed her mind previously.

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In November 2023, she applied for a role as the service quality director at the Thera South West - an organisation which supports adults with learning disabilities in their own homes and in their local community.

After several rounds of interviews, she was successful and started in the post in February of this year. Now, she helps people who are receiving support from Thera by ensuring they are happy with their medication, care plans, and support workers, as well as monitoring how often they go out for activities.

Sam feels her life has changed for the better and couldn’t feel more proud of what she has achieved. "I have had it tough in my life,” she told CornwallLive. "I was bullied a lot in school and I didn’t like school or college, so I thought I wasn’t going to have a successful future. But when I applied for the job at Thera, I thought I needed to put all that behind me and smash the interview.

“I’m really proud of myself for going for this because a lot of people doubted me and thought it was going to be really hard for me but Home Group encouraged me to go for it and I’m glad I did. Being with Thera, I feel like I belong a bit more in society and it means a lot to me because before, I was just volunteering once a week, so I didn’t have a lot to focus on.”

Sam added that Thera South West has given her a platform and a voice to help others, which she hopes to one day utilise to achieve her dream of giving talks at conferences to speak up for people with learning disabilities. She said she feels that it’s important to tell others like her that they too can achieve anything they put their mind to.

“I would say to people like me that you can be whoever you want to be in life,” she said. “Just because you have a different ability doesn't make you less of a person, so you just need to believe in yourself a lot more. Don’t let people tell you any different because you are unique and talented and you just need to be you because no one else can be you.”

Estelle Christmas, the managing director at Thera South West said Sam has played an important role in the team as her own experiences have helped her understand how to support others. She said: “Sam is an inspirational leader who because of her lived experience is able to demonstrate empathy for the individuals Thera South West supports, she is a huge asset to our senior leadership team and Board.”

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