Darrel had been married for 25 years before his wife passed away from cancer, while Linda’s previous long-term partner had also passed away. Darrel moved into supported housing provided by Sanctuary Supported Living in May 2013, and Linda moved in December 2013.
We both live with learning disabilities and came to Epworth House around the same time, our rooms were opposite each other.
Both of our lives are completely different now. First we became friends, then we became a couple and decided we’d like to get married.
The staff at Epworth House supported Linda through the legal process of making sure she had capacity to understand marriage, and we were both thrilled when the Registry Office gave us their blessing to go ahead.
Our wonderful wedding took place in April 2018 and we have been so happy ever since.
If it wasn’t for supported housing, we certainly wouldn’t be in a happy, stable marriage, and we probably would have still have been feeling sad and lonely following the deaths of our previous partners.
We wouldn’t have met each other without supported housing, and even if we had we might not have been able to get married. The support that staff gave to Linda in particular was amazing.
Sanctuary Supported Living kindly donated some money towards our wedding, which meant we could have the day we’d dreamt of. Staff at Epworth House really helped us to organise everything and everyone had a fabulous time.
Staff also worked hard to help us set up a flat of our own.
