WHEN Shaw Trust first came into the lives of Adam Rice and his mother Nonn it was only just in the nick of time they were at rock bottom.
"It may sound like a cliché, but I felt like I was drowning and Shaw Trust threw me a lifeline. Our lives changed from that moment," says Nonn, whose son Adam, 26, has Downs Syndrome.
Their problems were triggered by the sudden tragic death of Adam's beloved dad. The shock and grief transformed him from the quiet, sensitive, gentle soul everyone knew into a withdrawn violently angry young man.
Marooned at home in their grief Nonn struggled to cope with a son she barely recognised, unable to sleep for fear of what he might do.
"He wouldn't leave the house and I couldn't leave him alone. After months of this I knew I was going under and was desperate," admits Nonn.
Shaw Trust acted quickly and innovatively. The answer it seemed lay in a newly launched Direct Payments Scheme, run from the Trust's Disability Action Centre in Neath.
Stephen Holloway, a trainee taking part in a new Personal Assistant training scheme there, quickly stepped in to help and proved to be the lifeline Nonn so desperately needed.
"He had an impact straight away. Adam took to him as a friend, trusted him and soon built up a great relationship with him. Their weekly snooker night is the highlight of Adam's week now," smiles Nonn, whose own life has also been transformed.
"It has given me back my life and my sanity and enabled me to perform normal functions again, even as basic as grieving for my husband of 30 years.
"It's difficult to say strongly enough just how much Shaw Trust has meant to us," adds Nonn, who has nothing but praise for Steve's professionalism and skill.
Steve is one of a small group undertaking this first course of its kind as part of the Independent Living Service at Neath, He too has turned his life around with the help of Shaw Trust.
Forced to give up his job as an HGV driver two years ago, when he seriously injured his hand, he had been jobless and casting around for a new direction when he first approached Shaw Trust.
"I wanted to do something to help people, they suggested this NVQ course and I'm really enjoying it. I'm learning new skills, I will have a professional qualification and I am doing something which is really rewarding," he says.
"Helping Adam and Nonn has been great and is the beginning of a whole new career for me."
