It’s been 5 years since I’ve been out alone without a career or support worker. That’s every outing, always.

Recently I was told about the new feature in Cérge, a live chat with a human who can act as support whilst visiting a venue.

My first thoughts; “pffft that’ll never work for me. I haven’t been out without a worker in 5 years and with my set of disabilities there is no way a chat is going to help me”.

I was actually anxious at the thought of it.

I have a range of disabilities which hinder certain things I do, or how, or when. I have supports to help me shop, cook, exercise and socialise. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt independence or considered having a solo outing. The fear of me falling over due to fatigue or an anxiety attack gripping me at any moment tends to put a stop to any of that.

This ain’t no pity party, i’m a positive, fun, strong woman who manages to find a way to do what I need to with what I have working for and against me.

But, a computer to support me? Nup. I wasn’t keen.

I’ve watched Cérge grow over the past 6 months, my Facebook feed is full of positive stories and I’m starting to trust that these guys actually give a sh!t.

So when asked if I would give consideration to trialing the “Cérge Chat” feature I said I would. I had my support worker take me to the venue, I notified my local cafe that I was on my way through the app and I listened to my heart racing the whole drive there.

I was nervous

I was anxious as.

So I clicked on the “Cérge Chat” as we drove to the venue

Immediately Cérge responded happily. “Hey, how are you?”

I mentioned I was anxious but on my way. Even though I was chatting to Cérge the app. I knew that it was a caring human on the other end that they had my back.

We chatted back and forth and Cérge made sure I knew where I was going, had notified the business and had arranged what I needed. We had a few laughs too and my anxiety started to release.

When arriving at my local cafe, I was greeted with perfect service as always and seated at a table I had requested to be a little more quiet and in a open space.

There were no worries from the staff and they were off grabbing my coffee in no time.

I felt weird and the anxiety was starting to pick up again so I grabbed my phone and clicked to chat to Cérge, the human. Cérge made sure I had everything I needed. We chatted a bit more about everyday things and my experience.

I felt like a “normal” person, sitting at a table with a coffee, on my phone. I hate the term normal but that’s how I felt for the first time in five years.

My eyes are open

My anxiety lowered

My opportunities increased

I felt excited

I felt proud

I felt independent

I felt looked after and supported.

Cerge Head Office Audio Guide