Lisa and her two boys find a new home in the North

When Lisa and her family moved up from London, her son Oliver found it difficult to leave all his friends. Things got worse when he started school and was bullied. In the meantime they’d found Jack Drum Arts and saw Get Set Samba play at B.O.P Fest. Oliver had had drum lessons when he was younger and really wanted to have a go at the Samba drums.

He came to Jack Drum and, as Lisa recalls, “He came here to this little place and all the kids are lovely, he found his little home.” 

Participating together

He started drumming and then joined the Games Night but he’d already set his sights on joining the adult samba band. Oliver persuaded Lisa to join the Runaway Samba band and then he could go along with her. He now has individual snare drum lessons so that one day, he hopes, he’ll lead the band.

Lisa is so happy with how supportive everyone is at Jack Drum and how they’ve opened up other opportunities for Oliver to go to Edinburgh and be part of the Whitley Bay Carnival. Jack Drum is now Oliver’s safe place.

Supporting neurodivergent people

Her other son, Josh is autistic. He has ADHD and epilepsy. Josh needs a lot of support to even cross the road safely, so Lisa spent a lot of time getting him used to his new surroundings. Through a lot of care and repetition, Josh has begun to get used to being in this new place. He started coming to Jack Drum Arts’ Man Made group in September but needed a lot of support just to get through the door.

He’d been to Jack Drum Arts before, picking Oliver up, but still needed the care and understanding from the Jack Drum Arts team to help him be part of the group. For the first sessions he just stood in the doorway, anxiously messaging his mum.

Then after a few months one of the new volunteers was introduced to him and suddenly that was it. Josh was in the door, in the group and talking to everyone. In the build-up to this year’s light festival he came in everyday to help make one of the parade structures.

Taking the weight and making time and space

It was such a relief and a joy for Lisa to see how happy and integrated Josh has become at Jack Drum Arts. As Lisa says, “I now have three hours to myself where he doesn’t even text me, which is really bizarre. I have those three hours, and I don’t know what to do with myself!”

Josh recently went on a trip with the group which is an incredible achievement. He can easily get stuck in a place if he feels unsure so going out in public can be difficult. Jack Drum took him to the Story Museum and he’s already planning to go again. The fact that he could do this is testament to the care and support of the Jack Drum Arts team.

Even though it’s not a specialist Autistic centre they have a very real understanding of how to support people with additional needs. Josh has joined in with many of the craft activities, but can also just be there. Lisa remembers a time when he just liked making tea for people.

“If he can’t handle joining in, he can go off and do something else, he can just be whoever he is here and nobody minds.” Lisa is so grateful for them being so open and supportive, “I don’t think the people at Jack Drum Arts fully realise how amazing that is. They want to include everybody.” 

Lisa can finally relax, a little, now her two boys have made a new home in the North.