David - His Story

In 2010 David, aged 21, sustained a head injury when hit by a lorry in Kent. Soon after the accident David became homeless and was sofa surfing, this was due to physical injuries, cognitive deficits and behaviour changes making it difficult to support himself. However, with support from his gran and his friends he re-learned the basics such as reading and writing and started his recovery journey. With great determination he also relearnt to draw from scratch, something which is a great passion of his.

David was referred to Headway Surrey three years after his accident and started coming to our centre on Thursdays– it was at this point that he was able to become self-aware, recognise his difficulties and learn strategies to compensate. For example, planning his day and understanding his correspondence.

These skills enabled him to undergo training to become a tattoo artist and body piercer. After moving into his own flat and restarting employment our support changed from centre to community based so that we could focus on independent living skills such as budgeting.

David really has come full circle, he now lives independently and is a full time reputable tattoo artist and body piercer in Surrey and has great support from his employers. He thrives on any opportunity to practice his drawing and plans to design a Christmas card for Headway Surrey.