Will* is a typical 18 year old. When he finishes school next month he is looking forward to “sleeping in and staying-up late”.

And, like his teen counterparts, he rarely goes anywhere without his phone. But unlike many of his peers it has taken six months of hard work and consistent practice for Will to feel somewhat comfortable talking to strangers on the phone.

Will is one of nine young people from CareSouth’s Drop in Support program who has a disability support worker to help him master day-to-day activities like cooking meals and using the phone to talk to people he does not know.

For the past six months Will’s support worker, mentor and good mate Belinda Bridge has worked tirelessly with Will to give him the confidence and skills to make and confirm doctor and dental appointments and cold call transport and electricity companies to organise things like his Opal card.

These were all tasks that Will found impossible to face until Belinda came into his life.

“I would give Will a list of questions then I’d give him a number to call and his goal was to spend five to eight minutes on the phone talking,” said Belinda.

“On the days he knew it was a phone call day he would say ‘I don’t want to do this Belinda’ but we would work through some scenarios and he would always manage to do it.”

“I sort of find it hard to talk to strangers,” said Will. “With people I know I’m fine but with people I don’t know I go into my hidey hole.”

But with Belinda’s support Will has managed to overcome hurdles that previously seemed too hard. Thanks to Belinda’s coaching Will now has the confidence to deal with customers as part of his transition to work program at Flagstaff. He has also learned to prepare and cook meals like lasagne and desserts such as caramel slice and jam drop biscuits.

“But the caramel slice was a bit of a disaster,” laughed Will.

“Yeah we forget to use non-stick baking paper,” said Belinda.

The pair love to have a laugh together and there is a lot of gentle ribbing, but also a shared sense of pride in the goals they have achieved together.

“Will has taken some big, big steps and he should be so proud of himself, I’m so proud of him,” said Belinda who began working in CareSouth’s Drop In Support program in April.

“Coming from a Drug and Alcohol background it’s been a big change and we’ve had a few ups and downs haven’t we Will?”

“Hiccups,” said Will.

“Yeah hiccups,” agreed Belinda. “But we’re stuck with each other like glue. He can’t get rid of me. You’ve helped me as much as I’ve helped you Will, we’ve helped each other.”

“Yeah,” said Will, smiling shyly.

*Last name withheld