For people with learning disabilities and their families

Registered charity no. 299889

Autumn NewsletterPage 1:

Housing inspection

Page 2:

Learning and Leisure’s Summer of Fun

Page 3:

New play area

Day Service Partnerships

Page 4:

Fundraisers

UKIED quality mark

New staff

TELL US wHAT yoU THINK

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Centre 404, 404 Camden Road, London, N7 0SJ

Autumn 2015

In a recent Local Authority inspection of two of Centre 404’s services we were awarded the highest possible rating. One of the services, our Outreach project, supports 47 people living in the local community. People use this project for support with things such as budgeting, learning home skills and living with complex health needs. The inspectors also looked at Mildmay, a supported housing project. People using this project have access to a drop-in service on site and can choose additional support according to need.

Most important to us was the feedback given to assessors by family members and service users. One service user interviewed fed back that he, “had a great deal of independence but was secure in that he could ask for support at any time”. Family members said

Jolene and Cecilia test the water on seaside trip with the Outreach and Mildmay services

they were extremely pleased with the support their relatives received. They felt that their relatives had a say, were supported to remain independent and were able to make choices which sometimes didn’t work out.

Centre 404’s Head of Supported Housing Claire Curtis said, “This result is a reflection of the hard work that the support staff, senior support workers and the manager of the service, Javed Bhunnoo, put in. We are really proud of the team.” CEO Linda McGowan added, “We know that staff work really hard and we always strive to do our best, but it’s really rewarding to have our work externally validated in this way. I really want to thank all the staff for their efforts and all the families and service users for their input.”

Top Marks for Centre 404

Summer of Fun

Play Schemes

The learning and leisure team ran another fantastic play scheme over the school holidays. We had 10 days in Islington with 34 young people with a learning disability and their siblings. For the first time, we also had 6 days in Enfield at a local special needs school working with some children brand new to Centre 404.

Some of the things we did:

• London Zoo• Islington Boat Club• Regents Park • 2 days of Circus Workshops with Jackson’s Lane

The young people enjoyed themselves and had a chance to do new things. It also gave their families a break during this busy time!

Canal Boat Holiday

Once again the incredible team at The Angel Canal Community Trust (www.acct.org.uk) took 10 young people from Centre 404 for a weeklong trip travelling up the canals of Milton Keynes. Ian and Laurie were brilliant hosts, taking us along calm

canals to the local cinema and swimming pool. We also learnt how to open the locks and Jordan even steered the boat for over 3,000 yards - with assistance from the captain, of course.

On the last day it rained a lot but this did not dampen our spirits! Instead we had a BBQ feast then a board games night to end an amazing week. We are counting down the days until next year.

“My best bit is when we have the BBQ because we are all together and we are all having fun

with each other.” Lorrell

yoga and ArtBox

While the usual ice skating sessions were on hold for the summer, we also ran some new activities for adults with a learning disability.

We had Yoga sessions run by the wonderful Imanni, and an ArtBox project (www.artboxlondon.org). This projected created some wonderful art projects that will be on show soon in an exhibition.

Watch this space…

The whole crew with their brilliant hosts from the Angel Canal Community Trust

New play area at Centre 404

Partnership working with the Day Service

A new play structure will be built in memory of Victoria Willson and Lisa Davis, two long standing supported housing tenants and much loved members of Centre 404. In partnership with Centre 404, their families took time to consider the options and this year decided that a play/sensory structure for children and adults would be a fitting tribute, as both women particularly loved to watch children play.

The innovative design will be wheelchair accessible and include sensory equipment along with essential storage space. It will be built in a currently unused area at the back of the garden to make the most of our limited space.

Fundraising for the project has already started, with the Pearly King and Prince of Finsbury donating a surprise cheque in July this year. Victoria’s mother

and Centre 404 Chair Jean Willson has been leading on local fundraising. Thank you to Jean and her family for all their fundraising and planning, and to all those who donated in memory of Victoria and Lisa.

We are really pleased to say that so far we have raised over £8,000. Look out for updates on our fundraising target on our website, Twitter and Facebook, or contact Jean to find out more: jean@willsonfamily.co.uk / 0207 607 8327

Centre 404’s Day Service for adults with complex needs has been running for over two years. During that time we have formed many wonderful partnerships with people dedicated to making the world a great place for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, social status or disability.

This summer we worked with The Challenge (www.the-challenge.org), a national charity which aims for young people to grow up in a country where everyone is accepted and valued. They brought a group of young volunteers to run a series of activities for our Day Service. Along with lots of enthusiasm, the team from The Challenge brought funny drama games and awesome sports sessions. We provided a safe space and an eager group for the young people to develop their leadership skills with, and a chance for them to learn more about challenges faced by differently able groups in the UK.

Another group we owe a lot to is The Kindness Offensive (thekindnessoffensive.com), which is based just up the road from Centre 404. They rely on a huge volunteer network to perform random, large acts of kindness up and down the UK - for example, giving out Christmas presents or posting handmade cards to strangers.

They have let us use their beautiful headquarters as our Tuesday afternoon hideout for several months. Over that time they have become not just our helpers but also our great friends. In return we do what we can – from helping them with their garden to simply lending them our lawnmower. We are true partners with The Kindness Offensive and hope to remain friends with them for a long time!

Above: Helping the Kindness Offenstive in their gardenLeft: Sports day with The Challenge

Fundraising with Jean’s Jewels, a vintage accessories stall, at the Family Fun Day

Thank you!

Equality and Diversity

New Staff

As ever, both staff and volunteers have been busy fundraising for us over the summer (what summer?). As well as raising funds for our adult groups, including Warm & Welcome Wednesdays and Friday Night

Social, we set a target of raising £2,000 towards the cost of our summer play schemes and canal boat trip for young people. The overall cost of providing play schemes at Easter, summer and Christmas is almost

£18,000. Children in Need and Islington Short Breaks both help with these costs, but our fundraising efforts are vital to allow us to continue to provide what we know is a much needed and valued holiday provision.

Dale and Josh bravely volunteered to do a 10k open water sponsored swim for us.

Having survived the murky waters of the east London Docklands,

they raised over £600 and gained our utmost respect and gratitude!

Our Day Service Coordinator Duncan

Powell has just returned from a 305 mile sponsored

bike ride from London to Amsterdam. Along

with three brave friends, Duncan has so far raised

over £430.

Six of our Garden Group volunteers turned

their green fingers to fundraising, raising over £200 by packing bags at

Morrisons. Many thanks to Fatima, Phil, Savas, June,

Charles and Linda!

We chose to apply for the UK Investing in Equality and Diversity (UKIED) quality mark because we are passionately committed to fairness and equality of opportunity for all staff, service users and volunteers. As research increasingly shows, a diverse organisation is also more effective at meeting its charitable objectives. We were very pleased to be awarded the mark again this year. It recognises good practice and checks the following:

• Staff and service users are sensitive to and aware of equality issues • People know where to go with problems• Equality and diversity is promoted and managed• Good quality policies, procedures and checks are in place

Gemma Gittens

Resources & Facilities Administrator

Paul Soodeen

Deputy Manager of Leigh Road