Season’s Greetings – A message from our CEO, Lesley Dodd
Dear Friends and Supporters
As we fast approach the end of the year, I think a lot of us are still struggling to quite understand just how much our lives have been affected by the last 12 months. Every single one of us has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and we have shared experiences of lives lost too soon, freedoms taken away and high levels of anxiety about our own and our loved ones’ wellbeing and futures.
But we are lucky because we are still here.
As a charity there have been times when we genuinely feared for our survival and it has been extremely challenging constantly adapting in response to changing government guidance about what we could and could not do.
Taking the decision to close our buildings and face-to-face services for the duration of the National Lockdown was heart breaking, but it protected those we care about. Reopening our doors and welcoming people back to their support services in mid-July was fantastic. Watching people’s faces at seeing their friends once again was amazing and reminded us how much we value being physically with each other.
I am delighted that our usual support services have now been back up and running for several months and the safety measures we have put in place are working well. From travel training to supported internships, employment preparation to welfare benefits advice, afterschool club through to daytime and evening activities for adults we are once again doing what we love, ‘Changing people’s lives for the better’.
Excitingly we have also been awarded new grant funding so that we can set up and run 2 new projects that will really benefit people with learning and other disabilities.
- ‘Fresh Start’ is now up and running delivering specialist support to improve people’s physical and emotional health and well-being. Those taking part in the project are offered an initial health and fitness check, are provided with accessible information to learn more about living healthily and are encouraged to join our fitness activities. Those taking part can also help film health improvement videos and create easy read guides for our digital resource library. The project can be accessed in person or virtually.
Fresh Start runs Monday to Friday at Trailfinders Sports Club. For more information please contact annemarie.braganza@ealingmencap.org.uk
- We are also in the process of setting up a new employment project because we know so many young disabled people have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. This project will run for 18 months and will provide these young people with 12 weeks of practical support to help them get back into work as quickly as possible. In future we will also run workshops for young disabled people aged 14 – 18 to help them prepare for employment and a career of their choosing.
If you or someone you know has a disability and is aged 18 to 25 living in Ealing or Hounslow and has lost their job, we can help you. For more information please contact steve.poole@ealingmencap.org.uk
As so often seen, difficult times can bring out the best in people as they rise to the challenges and are inspired to create positive change. We are really proud of the way we have innovated and adapted, quickly and at short notice, to ensure we could carry on supporting as many people as possible.
We have learnt many lessons from our experiences, and these have and will continue to help us be a resilient charity. This year has brought home the importance and strength of having good communication and partnerships. Using technology to keep in contact with people remotely has been something of a struggle and has highlighted that many people with disabilities and their family are digitally excluded. This is something that we need to address.
You may have noticed earlier this year that we launched a new website and changed our logo. Hopefully, this has made it easier for you to find what you need or want from us. We have also created an online Ealing Mencap Community to receive regular updates about what we are doing – please do sign up so we can keep you in the know. We also have a Donate Button to help raise funds so we can do even more for people who need our support.
This has been an extremely tough year for our charity, and I am enormously grateful to the wonderful staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly throughout 2020. The commitment and passion they have shown during the hardest of times has been inspiring and they deserve a well-earned break.
To give them time with their families, our services will be closed from 21st December and will reopen on Monday 4th January.
Although the festivities will be different this year, I hope that you have a wonderful time and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. There is much to be celebrated and thankful for and we look forward to seeing you in 2021.
Lesley Dodd
