Samee Charity aims to open new location for their SEN interns

The Samee project is a charity that helps individuals with learning disabilities go into the world of self-employment.

The project that began as a 1-year course in 2016, has since expanded to 2 years with plans to open a 3^rd location.

Those involved are known as interns and those who coach them are known as mentors.

They engage in one-to-one sessions in order to have a more focused lens on the interns, allowing them to come out of the experience with a diploma through the accredited course “steps to self-employment”.

Samee Charity allows for individuals to gain self-confidence. They also look at budgeting and marketing in order for the interns to build up their own businesses.

Tyler Burt is one of their interns and is also their ambassador within the project. He creates digital art and has plans to expand his arts outreach, eventually creating a manga on his original characters.

“We’ve been studying a bit more about businesses, copyrights and trademarks.” said Burt.

The mentors encourage them to focus in on their own skills and celebrate the work that they do.

Providing networking opportunities that are tailored to their specific passion, gives them a jump off point for when they begin their businesses, and even after leaving the programme, the mentors keep in touch and provide support for them.

Burt said “I’ve got my attention on the main skillsets that I do but then again, the most boring stuff is actually the most important.”

Adrien Cuthbert is a mentor at Samee Charity who has been there since August of last year and has been working with the young people between the ages of 17 and 25.

The explained that the mentors may have group or individual sessions with the interns.

“we’ve got interns that want to be bakers and chefs, an intern who wants to be a movie director and even one who is a ventriloquist and does his own gigs.” Said Cuthbert.

The space is very heavily catered to the comfoetability and health of the interns, the one-to-one sessions allow for more focused attention and they even have a sensory room as a space for the interns to take a minute and ground themselves.

At first, it was only meant to be one year group but the interns liked it so much, they wanted a second year, so they opened another location.

“we’ve extended the course so that we can have a 3^rd year, which will be kind of interesting.” Said Cuthbert.

It is something that many of the interns are looking forward to as a space to harness their talents and grow further with their mentors.