Dennis, who’s in his 50s, was referred to Bath time bank by social services and the local police because he had high support needs, could not read or write and often found himself in trouble with the law.
After joining the time bank, Dennis got involved in a number of time exchanges, helping local people with DIY, painting, gardening, admin jobs and anything else he felt he was able to do. He used his time credits for one-to-one sessions of reading and writing lessons with another time bank member. In the meantime, he bought his post to the time bank every morning so other members could read it to him and help him sort out any issues arising.
Dennis also had the opportunity to travel to London with the time bank to talk at an event on mental health, coproduction and timebanking. Dennis said, “I feel more cheerful now than I did just sitting indoors watching the TV. I’m staying out of the pub and am staying out of trouble by being kept busy and my mind is on other things. Not only that, but I’m getting to meet new friendly people.”