Aviva Cost of Living Boost has provided £1,492 of match funding
Fund a service leader
Chelmsford, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Service leaders are trusted individuals who educate and promote wellbeing amongst our users. We urgently need an additional staff member.
Who we are
We are City of Chelmsford Mencap (CCM), an independent, self-funded charity that supports people with a learning disability, and their families, carers and professionals, across mid-Essex. For over 70 years, we’ve been providing vital lifelong learning, social opportunities and information and support for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
We pride ourselves on being innovative in identifying and meeting local need and in demonstrating that people with a learning disability can make meaningful contributions to their community.
In 2020, we were delighted to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of our high quality services and innovation.
Here at CCM, we strive to nurture, empower and celebrate every individual impacted by learning disability by enabling their own unique sense of belonging, dignity, resilience, independence and achievement.
Who we help
CCM supports people with a learning disability, including those with Down Syndrome, autistic spectrum disorders, and global development delay. Many also have mobility and/or sensory impairments and chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and arthritis.
Learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities which affects someone for their whole life.
There are estimated to be over 27,000 people with a learning disability living in Essex, of which c5,700 are estimated to have a moderate or severe learning disability.
We also provide much-needed support to families, carers and professionals who often face many challenges navigating complex systems regarding health, care and finances.
Safe Space
We provide a safe space for our service users who come to our centre to learn vital life, work and social skills, have fun and be part of a supportive community. During lockdown, we created virtual services but have been delighted to welcome our users back to the centre.
Before becoming a trustee, I was required to attend some sessions at the centre to meet the service users. During a break, one of the users explained how she had not fitted in at school due to her learning disability and has spent two years after in her bedroom, not wanting to leave. An enterprising social worker suggested CCM’s services and she said she has never looked back. She is developing her skills and friendships and always looks forward to her days at the centre.
Service Leaders
Our service leaders are amazing. They educate, care and hugely enhance the wellbeing of our service users. They are able to help our service users navigate a scary and uncertain world by helping them, their carers and family understand what is important. They also help our vulnerable users identify fraudulent activity, whether it be scams, phishing or ‘mate crimes’. Our leaders develop their understanding of money, budgeting and financial systems and help them keep safe online and in the community.
Vital community service
We provide a vital service to our users. Their joy at attending the centre and meeting their friends amongst other users only has to be seen once to understand how important it is to their lives.
The cost of living crisis threatens the safety and wellbeing of our service users, who are already highly vulnerable. Many are reliant on benefits and are struggling to afford housing, heating, food and care. In addition, our Advice and Advocacy Service is seeing a worrying increase in people with a learning disability being affected by scams, phishing and ‘mate crime’ (the befriending of vulnerable people with the intention of financial gain).
We urgently need funding for our Advice and Advocacy Service, to enable us to support more vulnerable people in crisis. Our Service Leader will help service users:
- Receive the care and learning opportunities to which they are entitled
- Learn how to identify and report fraudulent activity, including scams, phishing or ‘mate crimes’.
- Develop their understanding of money, budgeting and financial systems
- Keep safe online and in the community
Funding a Service Leader
We need service leaders more than ever so they can help our users through these uncertain financial times, ensuring their wellbeing is not affected by the cost of living crisis. We need an additional service leader and we do not want to increase our costs to users at this challenging time. To put our service out of the reach of users who rely on it is unthinkable. We therefore need funds to cover the funding gap and continue to give our users the support they urgently need.
Service Leaders are highly skilled and experienced who fulfil roles with significant social worth. The amount we are looking to raise would pay for half a service leader’s costs, we will be raising the remaining half through other fundraising opportunities.
Help us raise £10,000 to support vulnerable adults with a learning disability during the cost of living crisis.
This project successfully funded on 10th January 2023