The Autism Together stand which was set up at the event.

An activity in which Keith and Kevin participated, tracking the benefits to our team members of working as part of the Adoption Scheme.

The locations of the various organisations involved in the Adoption Scheme.

Kevin Mulligan, Client Services Manager, with Autism Together reports on the team attending the recent Towpath Adoption Scheme Conference.

“On Thursday 12th November, Kevin Mulligan (Service Manager) and Keith Saunders (Activity Manager) travelled to Birmingham to represent Autism Together at the Towpath Adoption Scheme Conference.

For the past three years the Narrow Boat team from our Community Health and Well-being area have adopted a section of the Shropshire Union Canal. We have taken responsibility for general maintenance and conservation work of a five mile stretch of the canal, located near the Shady Oak public house. As founding members of the scheme, we were recently invited to the first Canal and River Trust conference in Birmingham.

Over twenty other organisations also attended the event.  Throughout the conference we made links with other organisations including Leicester Outdoor Pursuits, SUMBA and Earth House. We look forward to how we may link in and potentially work with these organisations in the future.

The day was set out so that we could share our experiences of the Adoption Scheme, including how it is used to allow our service users to gain external awards and the positive impact it has on their well-being. These awards on offer consist of: The Duke of Edinburgh Award, the Gateway Award, ASDAN Awards and the John Muir Award Scheme.

Overall the day was a great success. We gained Ideas for how we can improve our approaches to the Adoption Scheme and develop our skills further. These will be put into place in the near future.”

Kevin Mulligan.