Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) in Devon are benefitting from travel training workshops run by Devon Communities Together as part of the Connecting You project.

The training is designed to provide the tools for anyone involved in social care to mentor clients in becoming independent travellers. The workshop helps to identify the types of people who could benefit from travel support and how to support someone in making change in their lives. It contains many practical tools and is accompanied by both a mentors’ guide and a travellers’ guide.

The workshops are tailored to each organisation’s needs, enabling trainees to apply concepts to real-life situations and consider the differing needs of individual clients.

Project Manager Rod Birtles said, “the response from the people who have done the training has been overwhelmingly positive. The ability to travel is an essential part of independent living, and people in rural areas face additional challenges. This training will provide a lasting resource to help people who, for whatever reason, find it hard to access public transport.”

Participants in the training have welcomed the comprehensive content, structured approach and practical resources that they can use with their clients.

One participant from the YMCA’s Housing Team said, “Great resources. Trainers were friendly and helpful. Very relevant to our clientele”, whilst Reaching for Independence said, “I found the structured approach to travel training to be very useful for future clients. It was helpful to work through real scenarios. I will recommend this to other reaching for Independence Teams”.

Alongside the travel training partner organisations Westbank, One Northern Devon and Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership are delivering a range of trips and supported travel including:

• Tarka Line Creatives: Supported train journeys to facilitate photography walks.
• Minibus trips to local attractions for people unable to access public transport.
• ‘Chatty Bus’ – volunteers who talk to passengers to provide a social experience and useful local information.

These activities are providing much needed social connections for people who may otherwise be isolated and lonely. In many cases this is the result of being isolated during Covid lockdowns and becoming anxious about meeting people.

One beneficiary who took part in a workshop run by Community Environmental Educational Therapy CIC (CEET) said, “Having been isolated for 2 and a half years and sometimes keeping myself shut in my room, this was the first time I have been in a group” 

Connecting You is aimed at 16 – 24 year-olds and the over 55s. It is managed by Devon County Council and is a pilot project funded by the Department for Transport as part of its Tackling Loneliness with Transport initiative.