Newsletter
April
2011
AutismInitiativesUK
real partnerships, unique solutions, positive outcomes
World Autism Awareness Day
The United Nations General Assembly designated 2nd April
as World Autism Awareness Day at the end of 2007and the
formal resolution was supported by all member states.
Autism Initiatives UK launched its ASC Support Card to
mark the first World Autism Awareness Day in 2008 and has
supported the media publicity for the campaign in the last
two years in partnership with the UK’s major autism charities.
“the Service
User Forum
acts as our
voice”
In 2011 we are maintaining our support of, and participation
in, a national awareness initiative which will be launched on 2nd April, as well as
continuing our involvement in a group of leading autism charities in the North West
of England.
Service user
forum update
Chief Executive Andrew Grainger encourages us all to be part of this important
day and says “People with autism and their families face unimaginable challenges
every single day of their lives. Please lend your support to World Autism Awareness
Day on 2nd. April. It is only through such support that people will begin to
acknowledge, understand and actually help us to drive forward initiatives that
support people with autism throughout the UK”
Services users are at the centre of Autism
Initiatives services and the Service User Forum
(SUF) acts as our voice. We work together
to look at ways to improve the delivery of our
services – after all we are the ones using them.
We will, with our group partners, be promoting awareness of autism across the
North West through leaflet distribution and talking to people while undertaking street
collections in Fleetwood, Crosby, Blackpool, Formby,
Warrington and Southport.
All collectors will be able to talk to people
from experience about the work of our
charity as well as helping to raise funds
for our individual charities.
If you live near any of these areas we
would be immensely grateful for your
help – please contact Keith by 31st
March (details on back page).
“It is only through
your support that
people will begin
to acknowledge,
understand and actually
help us to drive forward
initiatives that support
people with autism
throughout the UK”
All collectors will be able to talk to
people from experience about the work
of our charity as well as helping to raise funds
for our individual charities. If you live near any of
these areas we would be immensely grateful for your
help – please contact Keith by 31st March (details on back page).
The SUF has been looking at various aspects of
how Autism Initiatives reviews current and new
policies and procedures and examining how
things are working.
The team has been looking at ways we can check
the quality of services, see what’s working well
and if any improvements can be made. Our
newest initiative is service ‘Inspections’.
The team will launch pilot visits in the early
Spring. We will let houses know when we plan
to visit and, because we know it’s their home,
service users will have time to decide if they
would like to be present. What is better than
having the people who live in and experience the
services doing the job.
We hope to have new membership packs
soon, so if you would like to join us at the
Forum (next meeting 24th March in Crosby) or
participate in visits, please get in touch on suf@
autisminitiatives.org.
Paul
Fleetwood Crosby
Blackpool
Formby
Warrington
- SUF Member
“What is better
than having the
people who live in
and experience
the services
doing the job”
Fundraising
Mere Brow
Fashion Show
Silverbeck Rymer
Management and staff at Silverbeck Rymer Solicitors in Liverpool put a huge amount of time
and effort into their fundraising activities and Autism Initiatives UK was delighted to be chosen
as one of their nominated charities in 2010. Tony Williams from Silverbeck Rymer says “As part
of our Corporate Social Responsibility our charity work is paramount and features heavily in our
corporate plans.”
During the year staff organised and participated in a variety of fundraising activities,
including monthly dress down days, raffles, an annual quiz night, baking
competitions, fun days and bingo nights. The Social Committee told
us that staff feel they are very lucky to not only have the backing and
encouragement of senior management but very tangible support
of fundraising activities through for example, the provision of
prizes for the events, enabling all of the money raised and
donated to go direct to the nominated charities.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed and helped to
raise a staggering £1,000
“our charity work
is paramount
and heavily
features in our
corporate plans”
The Mere Day Resource Centre recently
put on a Fashion Show at the local Hall.
The event was very well supported
by Jane’s Couture on the catwalk and
included a Catwalk, Chic Boutique,
Aimee’s unseen Vintage and Retro dress
collection - from the 30s to the 80s,
Vanilla Lingerie,
Tussie Mussie
Floral Design and
A Spring Fashion Show
accessories, The
Body Shop as
well as a display
of Art from local
Tickets only £10
artists and Fashion
Photographer Alex
Patrica.
Mere Brow Resource Centre presents
at Mere Brow Village Hall
Saturday 19th March 2011 - from 7.30
Catwalk, boutique fashion styles, Vanilla
Lingerie, Floral Design and accessories
We are also delighted to have:
An unseen Vintage dress collection
- from the 30s to the 80s
The Body Shop
Fashion Photographer
Art from local artists
plus
Hotpot Supper
Licenced Bar
Live Music
Proceeds in aid of
Mere Brow Resource Centre
35 Spring Meadow
Mere Brow
Autism Initiatives UK, 7 Chesterfield Road, Liverpool, L23 9XL
 0151 330 9500 Charity No. 702632 Company No. 2436777 www.autisminitiatives.org
Some one hundred
guests enjoyed a hotpot supper and
live music and contributed to a very
successful evening of fashion and
fundraising.
The funds will help us to continue the
Resource Centre’s work at the Gorse
Hill Nature Reserve near Ormskirk. The
Reserve exists to help reverse the loss
of wildlife habitat in the North West and
provides the opportunity for volunteers –
including Autism Initiatives service users
– to participate in this important project
In 2011 we hope to continue wildflower
planting within the site which covers 90
acres of mixed woodland and pasture.
Service users also gain significant
benefit from this open air environment
whilst using the field study areas to
broaden their understanding of flora and
fauna.
Also in this edition
Photo: Members of the Social Committee presenting the £1,000 cheque to Sue Murphy. L to R
: Ashleigh Tarbuck, Hannah Moore, Sue Murphy, Fiona Kearney, Donna Jones, Lucy Jenkins and
Tony Williams.
One Vision Housing
Management and staff at One Vision Housing
certainly added some Christmas sparkle when
they rang to tell us we had been nominated
for a donation from their recent fundraising
activities. Staff and service users in our day
resource centre in Crosby were thrilled and used
the money towards paint and craft materials
which they used when creating the backdrop and
stage set for the Narnia production at St Georges
Hall (See page 7).
We were delighted when we heard earlier this month that One Vision Housing is the 5th best
employer to work for in the UK, according to the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to
Work For list 2011. OVH was the second highest new entry in the list and came in above
companies such as Admiral Group, Virgin Money and Adecco – what an achievement!
A place in the list is highly respected as it ranks Britain’s best companies to work for by staff
satisfaction survey results, which focus on factors such as health and wellbeing, leadership
and career progression. Congratulations to One Vision Housing from all of us here at Autism
Initiatives!
The People’s Postcode Lottery Trust
Over the last 18 months we have received an amazing
£37,357 from The People’s Postcode Lottery Trust in
support of 4 important projects in England and Scotland.
Our first grant in England was used towards improving
facilities at our Southport Day Resource Centre, a
horticultural service which provides support to 25 adults.
The funding allowed us to develop an area of land at the
Centre which has made a huge difference to our service
users there, who are now able to make full use of this
garden, which was previously derelict due to lack of funds.
A further grant in England helped to provide some of the items and equipment needed to help
20 students at our Further Education Resource Centre in Southport to develop their independent
living skills and build upon work related learning and social skills, all of which help to ensure that
our students are well prepared to play a full and active role in today’s society.
Services in Scotland have also received two grants. The first
was awarded to our One Stop Shop Information and Advice
Service in Edinburgh, which enabled the implementation of
our ‘Living Life to the Full’ project, designed to improve the
mental health of young people with autism. The second, also
in Edinburgh, was used toward facilities at the Hermitage
Horticultural Centre which provides training and work
opportunities to adults with autism.
We are immensely grateful to the People’s Postcode Lottery
Trust for such generous support. The funding we have
received has allowed us to move forward and progress
these important projects which really do make an enormous
difference to the lives of those people we support. We would
also like to say a very big thank you to everyone who takes
part and plays the People’s Postcode Lottery – without you
the funding would simply not be possible at all – please keep
playing and good luck from us all!
Edinburgh Airport and The Naturesave
Trust
The Hermitage project has recently received
generous support from Edinburgh Airport and
from The Naturesave Trust.
The project, featured in your Newsletter
last Spring, supports service users from
Edinburgh’s Activity Resource Centres and
our Outreach services in the Lothians. One
of the aims of the horticultural centre is for
service users to attain recognised qualifications
through college attendance and through their
work at the centre.
Fundraising
Fundraising Team
The Autism Initiatives UK Fundraising
Team has seen some new faces of late.
We welcomed David Cotson as the Trust
and Corporate Fundraiser, a post that is
now established in Crosby, and Charlotte
Taylor who is Community Fundraiser
based at Edinburgh’s Number 6 one stop
shop.
After a successful career as a Maths and
Physics teacher in secondary schools
and FE colleges David turned his hand to
Trust and Corporate Fundraising.
He raised £400k to build and equip the
Outpatient Annexe and Lymphoedema
Centre at a local hospice and kept the
North West Air Ambulance in the air for
18 months.
Charlotte has been organising
fundraising events since she was at
university and has always wanted to
work in the charity sector. Prior to joining
us she had spent a year living in France
teaching English.
Charlotte, who has already held a
successful pub quiz, cinema trip, race
night and bucket collection at Murrayfield
(see p8) is currently putting together a
further programme of exciting fundraising
events and working to raise the profile of
Autism Initiatives in Scotland.
The donations will fund the purchase of
equipment and materials used by service users
in their everyday work on the site.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank
Edinburgh Airport, The Naturesave Trust and
a number of other Foundations and Trusts for
their generosity.
Virgin Money Giving
A timely reminder that we have now moved to
Virgin Money Giving as our main fundraising
sponsor site and our account at Just Giving
is soon to be switched off. This will result in
more of your of your hard won funds benefitting
service users as Virgin Money Giving does not
charge a monthly fee and has lower processing
costs.
Photo: Victoria Barbey from Edinburgh
Airport with Hermitage service user Eamonn
tidying one of the raised beds
If you are planning a fundraising event, taking
up a personal challenge or if you want to
support or celebrate someone special, this is
where to go http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com
Click on ‘Start Fundraising’ and you are on
your way … if you need a hand, please contact
Keith or Sue from the Fundraising Team. In
fact, it is a good idea to contact Keith or Sue if
you are planning any fundraising event as other
resources are available to help you.
In this photo: Keith, David, Charlotte
and Sue (Head of Fundraising)
As with most of our fundraising activities,
donors can ask that funds go to a specific
service, so if you want to raise cash for a
project where you live or work, where your
relative lives … or simply because it’s a good
idea, you can specify the service.
Enterprise
‘a great little place’
Best Coffee Shop in Southport?
Following the successful launch of ‘a great little place’ in December,
the social enterprise has begun its task in earnest and has taken two
service users for work experience. Darren and Lorna work part-time
in the café and art gallery under the guidance of the Manager, Sue
Yarnell. For Sue, this is not only the purpose of ‘a great little place’
but the reason she took the job:
“...being given the opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives is
what really makes it worthwhile.”
Sue has worked with people who have learning disability, special
needs and autism for many years. She is particularly enthusiastic
about the value of service users with autism to the workplace
“Darren and Lorna are doing really well in their front of house
roles… as they give great attention to standards and the quality
required by every customer.”
The enterprise also serves as an exhibition space for the work of
members of Southport Contemporary Arts, a network of independent
practicing artists in the town. ‘a great little place’ is a sponsor of the
‘Open studio and Arts trail 2011’
“being given the
opportunity to
make a difference
to people’s lives is
what really makes it
worthwhile”
Lorna busy with the early morning essentials
The café has recently been awarded a 5* rating from Sefton for the quality of its standards, systems, training, practice and management within the
sphere of environmental health and with your help, hopes to be voted as Best Coffee Shop in Southport in May. A voting slip can be downloaded from
our website.
VIP
visits
We are thrilled to see how many businessmen in Southport are using
‘a great little place’ for their meetings. On this occasion it proved to be
a very small world indeed as Mark Nash (left) and Neil Grogan bumped
into MP John Pugh whilst he was having coffee with Andrew Grainger.
Both Mark and Neil had been taught by John in their school years –
even more coffee was called for as between them they remembered
some of the lighter moments!
We were delighted that
Claire Lara, winner of BBC’s
MasterChef: The Professionals in
2010, was able to open ‘a great
little place’.
Claire is pictured with Andrew
Grainger at the Café.
James creates new MeCycle website
Mark Nash, Senior Relationship
Manager at Commercial Banking
RBS; Neil Grogan, Commercial
Director Capita and Trustee of
Autism Ventures; John Pugh,
MP for Southport and Andrew
Grainger, Chief Executive Autism
Initiatives UK.
Moving our Vision on
‘Our expectation is that people with autism can learn and develop
and we support this process every single day. We will create
unique services for people to enable them to have ownership of
their own lives and future.’
The Board of Trustees and Directors hosted a Visioning Day at Pat
Minshull House for Managers and staff from across the UK and Ireland.
The purpose of the seminar, led by Chief Executive Andrew Grainger
and National Director Kate Silver, was to discuss and promote the
continuing development of the philosophy which drives Autism
Initiatives and makes us the leader in supporting people with autism.
Our core values underpin everything we do, our Vision and philosophy
guide how we deliver services - this is our approach. Our shared values
and language strengthen our organisational culture, make us able to
adapt to change and enable us to deliver service excellence.
We do think differently about autism and recognise the value of the 5 point
star approach in supporting an understanding of people with autism that
focuses on ability, empowerment and developing a positive ‘can do’ attitude for
both staff and service users.
Concluding her inspirational presentation, National Director Kate Silver emphasised,
“If we are to continue to be successful we must be able to demonstrate and evidence our
specialism and show that we are different amongst autism providers.”
Also speaking at the event John Phillipson, CEO of North East Autism Society, introduced The
Autism Partnership Validation process which has been developed to help us to ensure that we are
achieving consistency in our understanding, approaches, language and systems. All of which will
increase interest in our services amongst potential stakeholders.
Chief Executive Andrew Grainger says, “Over the coming months, newly developed ‘change
groups’ will be tasked with creating detailed plans outlining the ways in which we may take this
organisational vision forward.”
Six new bikes funded by National Lottery
The National Lottery, through Active Sefton and CTC Community Cycling Team, have funded six
new bicycles for the MeCycle bike project based at Cedar House to help encourage more staff
and service users to go out on the regular bike rides like the current one organised on Tuesdays
from the centre.
The six “Dawes Mean Street” mountain bikes were chosen for their sturdy build and are
fitted with semi slick tyres that are ideal for path and cinder tracks. They have 21 gears and
are also fully height adjustable to suit different sizes of rider. The funding also included some
important additions; our first brand new set of tools, some tool boxes, work stations and wheel
straightening equipment.
Jon Gordon, the Enterprise Manager for Autism Initiatives says, “The equipment is fabulous and
the value of funding shows great faith in this worthwhile project. We are encouraging service users and staff to either start cycling together or to return to it as a great way to get about and have fun.” The new equipment will provide new training opportunities and will also enable the project to offer a wider range of services in the future.
“funding shows
great faith in
this worthwhlle
project”
If you would like to go on an organised bike
ride from Cedar House, buy a refurbished
bike or make a donation please contact:
Jon Gordon on 07730 526229
or [email protected]
MeCycle has just launched a fabulous new website
www.mecycle.co.uk
showing a range of refurbished bikes for sale created courtesy of
service user James.
James has completed the site from scratch, and says “My intentions
are now to help the other disadvantaged people in every way I can
and make my life and any other persons life go from down to up.”
“my intentions
are to help other
disadvantaged
people”
England
Walk Leaders
In January, Oonagh
Hilton, and Linda
Martin from our
Crosby Head Office,
together with Adele
Chadwick and Cathy
Buck from Radnor
Drive, completed the
Nationally Certificated
‘Walk for Health’ Walk Leaders course.
Refrieze project at Peterhouse
Students at Peterhouse School have been part of a refrieze exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall to
celebrate its 140th birthday. Special and specialist school students nationally have been involved
to create a contemporary version of the Victorian mosaic frieze that spans the exterior of the
Royal Albert Hall. Panoramic photographer, Henry Reichhold, will digitally stitch together the
‘new frieze’ using chosen images from each participating school.
Pupils were able to develop new concepts and explore materials individually or as part of group
work as part of the project. At Peterhouse the Arts are valued and pupils achieve both artistic
skills and significant life skills through experiencing and exploring a wide variety of ideas, working
independently and making choices. The Refrieze Project has provided a unique opportunity for
our pupils to be a part of the wider community and highlight their progress, achievements and
successes.
The exhibition is open to the public this month where the completed contemporary frieze will be
displayed at the hall itself. The online exhibition features all chosen images from each school. You
can visit this online at: www.refrieze.com. Pupils have enjoyed seeing the on line exhibition
and are, naturally, very proud of their achievements.
Linda will be leading walks during lunch
times at Crosby whilst Oonagh will be
working with Ben, a service user from
our Westmorland service, to establish
a walking club for service users, their
families, friends and staff. Cathy and
Adele have added walking to the Radnor
timetable
by Maggie, aged 13
The Walk Leaders will be rolling out a
programme of walks to take advantage
of the lighter evenings and we hope to
be able to publish a list of events before
Easter.
The Walk Leadership programme is
a national initiative focused on health
promotion for all but there is a particular
emphasis toward people with mental
health, learning disability and age related
health needs.
by Christian
Walking is an excellent way to exercise
and being active is important in
promoting positive mental health, weight
management and in reducing the risks
associated with heart disease, strokes,
several types of cancer, osteoporosis,
dementia and other mental health
issues.
“I like what
people teach me
because I learn
new stuff every
time and its fun”
by Jodie
Adam achieves NVQ
Adam gained his qualification at St Helens’
College following from his achievement at
Level 2.
He is supported in College by Autism
Initiatives UK’s Community Support Team
where their role is solely to support Adam
toward a better understanding of the
terminology used on the course.
by Andrew
“it makes me
feel proud
when I finish
a picture”
by Rosie, aged 15
Adam is currently working with animals, on a
part time basis, at a local pet shop.
He loves his job and it fits in well with his busy
life.
The photograph shows Adam being
congratulated on his splendid achievement by
our Chief Executive, Andrew Grainger.
Don’t let Adam’s calm exterior fool you, he
is really pleased that all of his hard work has
produced a very successful outcome.
Artisan Workshops
England
Three Southport service users have been attending
workshops provided by the Artisan Creative Studio.
The Studio offers small friendly classes in a very broad
range of visual arts and contemporary crafts under the
direction of Norrie Beswick-Calvert.
The Artisan studio is part of the Southport Contemporary
Arts organisation, which exists to promote local artists
and engage the community in creative activity. Artists
from the organisation deliver the workshops and
therefore, our service users and others benefit from
inspirational and experienced tuition across a broad
range of visual art forms.
Peter, John and Max have been working hard on
developing their skills and techniques in drawing and
painting, using various media, for six months or so. Norrie says, “I am delighted with the
progress that each of these artists has made, from their willingness to experiment with different
media, to the choice of projects, their understanding of what is required and the control which
each exercises when using the different media.”
Each of our service users has work exhibited at ‘a great little place’
and several examples of their work has been sold. The photograph
shows Norrie discussing the next stage of a glass painting project
with Max. Peter, John and Max also contributed to the very
successful two week long ‘Artisan Fans’ exhibition, held in
Southport’s Wayfarers Arcade at the end of February, which
highlight the work of many of the participants in the Artisan
workshops.
“delighted with
the progress that
each of these
artists has made”
Rock Star
Warrington based service user Chris has
been rock climbing since December. He
has been progressing really well and is
now able to climb beyond half way.
Chris looks forward to his visits to the
wall with his Support Worker – and
experienced climber – Peter Annesley
who told us ”Chris is growing in
confidence and self belief with every
climb.”
Narnia 2011
For the second year running we were invited to participate in the ‘Narnia Project’. The venue for
2011is much more prominent and the event is, understandably, on a much larger scale.
Liverpool’s neoclassical St Georges Hall is a Grade 1 listed building is not only larger but also has
some amazing and appropriate stone lions outside.
“Chris is growing
in confidence and
self belief with
every climb”
For this year’s exhibition we have had the privilege of constructing Mr Tumnus’ (The Faun) fire
place, the design of which was taken from the first of ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’
films and made along with the rocks, animals, flowers and a tree.
The animals were a wooden goat (donated), an eagle, hedgehog and butterflies. The tree, due to
the height of the hall had to be remade to a serious nine feet – half as big again as last year!
Once again, the project has provided us with the opportunity to apply our philosophy and
practice to a number of activities and stages as part of a substantial project which included
several visits to St Georges Hall.
The sensory group together with Suzie Deacon’s and Ian Pettifer’s art groups would like to thank
‘In another place’ for their inclusive and friendly support.
The photos show Staff member David with some of the Narnia props made by service users in
Crosby Day Resource Centre, Hian coming through the wardrobe with Vicky and Tracy in the
professor’s Library
Tuck Shop
If you work, or have had training, at Autism Initiatives Head
Office then you might be familiar with the ‘Tuck-shop’. This
Enterprise project, begun in a small, but significant, way,
is a mobile service offering drinks and snacks to staff on
Tuesday afternoons.
John Paul, who is the first service user to participate
in the project, is supported in his understanding and
communication during his weekly round. John offers
customers ‘picture choices’ for snacks and drinks.
Staff are then able to communicate in a reciprocal and
meaningful autism specific way when making their
purchases.
John loves to engage with customers and likes handling
the money and giving the change.
Our person-centred approach, based on the principles
of our 5 point star, have helped us to realise some of the
possibilities presented by the Tuck Shop activity.
Occupational Support in the Lothians
Wales
Merger
with C-SAW
“a
welcome
step
forward”
North Wales
partners C-SAW
(Community
support for
Autism in Wales)
merged with Autism Initiatives UK on
1st. February. This is a welcome step
forward as C-SAW had been benefitting
from an informal partnership with Autism
Initiatives UK for over 12 months
During this period it became obvious that
our vision, philosophy and values were
shared and that our combined strengths,
skills and expertise played an important
part in the development of autism
services in Wales. This partnership
will serve to underpin and to drive the
development of our services to people
with autism in Wales.
Catherine Thompson, Area Manager
for Autism Initiatives in North Wales,
together with Jessica Swire, Play
and Recreation Officer, are currently
responsible for our Holiday Clubs (8-18)
in Conwy, Flintshire and Denbighshire.
Jessica is responsible for setting up and
running a trampolining club, Breakfast
Clubs and After-school Clubs as well as
Weekend Clubs for young adults. We are
also running three adult social groups in
Flintshire and Denbighshire.
Recent Fundraising
in Scotland
Recent Fundraising events in Edinburgh
include a Race Night, where horses, dogs and
pigs helped to raise £150. A group of service
users from Number 6 came along and had a
really enjoyable evening and were keen to find
out the date for the next one.
Our Outreach and Day Services in the Lothians, which include the Resource Centres, have been
reconfigured and will now be known as Lothian Occupational Services.
This change is an important step forward, enabling a greater flexibility of service provision and
a significant improvement in choice for service users in the Edinburgh and Lothians region of
Scotland.
We are aiming to optimise the use of our resources by offering a broader range of occupational
and life skills and, at the same time, take full advantage of recreational educational and leisure
facilities within the wider community
Service users will be able to join different sessions which, under the previous arrangements,
they would not necessarily have had the opportunity to enjoy. We are looking to introduce
more flexible opening times and a number of evening and weekend sessions. These changes
represent a shift from ‘traditional’ outreach services and ‘day centre activities’ towards a more
focused programme of person-centred skills development delivered at a suitable pace, in
partnership with each service user.
Options offered will be guided by specific purposes and outcomes with each service user which
can be evaluated and evidenced as good ASC practice within our philosophy.
Of course those specific purposes will be firmly based on supporting service users toward greater
self esteem, independence and the realisation of their potential.
One Stop Shop
has moved
Hairy Haggis Relay
Marathon
Number 6 – One Stop Shop has moved to 24
Hill Street. We had a party to celebrate the
move and welcome everyone properly to the
new building. One of our regular service users
provided fantastic music with a full DJ set up
and people danced the night away. We held a
pool competition, ate some yummy food and
lots of cakes baked by service users – it was a
great way to “warm” the new building.
Once again this year, we are competing in
Edinburgh’s Hairy Haggis Relay Marathon on
22nd May and it looks like we’re going to have
at least 4 teams made up of staff, volunteers
and our service users. To help make sure
we’re all going to make it round OK, we have
started a regular running group on Friday
mornings. Look out for a chance to sponsor
us at Virgin Money Giving!
We held a film night
at Film night at the
Dominion Cinema with
Marilyn Monroe and
the cast of ‘Some Like
it Hot’ – apart from
raising some money the
event provided a really
enjoyable night out for
everyone who attended.
We also held a very successful
bucket collection at Murrayfield
before and after the Scotland vs
Italy 6 nations match. Charlotte
would like to use this article to
thank the team who helped to
organise the event, all of the
volunteers who carried the heavy
buckets and all of the rugby fans
who contributed their cash.
‘the gallery on the corner’
Scotland
Apprentices at ‘the gallery on the corner’
We reported the opening of ‘the gallery on the corner’
in the last issue and since then three retail and three
creative apprentices have commenced work covering
ten working days per week between them.
The retail team has a customer-facing role, while
the creative team works in the studio with the Arts
Development Worker building up a body of work,
some of which has been sold, and making
cards, also for sale in the gallery.
“fantastic
All of our apprentices undertake a
Vocational Qualification. The creative
project,
team spends between 1 and 3 days per
great gallery
week each at college, in addition to their
space”
work at the Gallery, Retail trainees are
developing a portfolio of evidence to meet
the requirements of the ‘Ready for Retail’
qualification.
What pleases us most about our achievements to date
is the progression of each of our apprentices. Not only
are they learning and developing work-based skills,
each is supported in other areas of their lives, such
as time management and personal organisation. We
are delighted to see the vast improvement in individual
confidence and communication.
Our premises are in the heart of
Edinburgh’s gallery district and we do
benefit greatly from this in concentration
of ‘art’ customers.
Customer comments include
• “Good place, good vibes, good luck!”
• “A unique and interesting experience”
• “Excellent addition to the galleries here!”
What our
trainee’s say:
“I like working in the
gallery because of the
artwork. I wish I could
work here forever.”
Edina– Creative Trainee
Exhibitions at ‘the gallery on the corner’
Since its opening ‘the gallery on the corner’ has held a number of successful exhibitions and
workshops. The most recent, held in February, was David Peacock: A Retrospective.
David is an artist with ASC, he does not communicate verbally. As an adult he attended
occupational therapy classes where his artistic ability became obvious and he has enjoyed
painting for a number of years. The encouragement and patience of his teachers was a major
influence on his growing maturity and distinctive style. David’s exhibition was very successful,
on the opening night 50 people attended and we sold 6 of his 11 pieces. In addition to helping spread the word about ‘the gallery on the corner’,
“wonderful
it brightened up a very dreary Edinburgh February!
new gallery
and beautiful
work”
“I wish
I could
work here
forever”
“I find working in the gallery a very
fulfilling and enjoyable experience,
particularly the creative ambience.”
Nick– Retail
Trainee
“Working in the
gallery is good. I
like earning money
from making art.”
Alan– Creative
Trainee
Upcoming events:
8th to 26th March
An exhibition presenting the work of
students from Edinburgh’s Kaimes
School.
5th to 23rd April
An exhibition by the artists of Celf o
Gympas, an inclusive art group from
Wales.
7th June to 2nd July
A new selection of work by this year’s
leavers from the Artlink Central Creative
will be on show
August TBA
We are hoping to mount an exhibition
of the work of Little E, one of our best
selling artists.
Aberdeen Autism Base
We have been providing support for a new
partnership service in Aberdeenshire. The
Aberdeenshire Autism Information Base aims to
raise both awareness and the profile of Autism
Spectrum Conditions in Aberdeenshire by
providing information and resources to people
with autism, parents/carers and members of
the public.
Aberdeenshire Council is working on a multi
agency basis with specialist local and national
organisations involved with autism spectrum
conditions, notably Autism Initiatives Scotland,
The Grampian Autistic Society, The National
Autistic Society, The Scottish Society for
Autism and NHS Grampian. Each organisation
has played a part in helping to design and
develop the service and to provide practical
support to people coming to the base.
Northern
Ireland
Floating Support in Northern Ireland
A new and innovative ‘Floating Housing Support’ service has been launched in Northern Ireland.
The first service of its in kind in counties L/Derry, Tyrone and Fermanagh, it has been developed
to address specific housing needs of those with ASC.
Autism Initiatives will deliver the new service for some 30 people from bases in L/Derry and
Omagh. The service, funded through the Supporting People Fund, is managed by the Housing
Executive whose Deputy Chief Executive, John McPeake, said “This service is an excellent
example of what can be achieved through a partnership approach when bodies such as the
Housing Executive and Western Health and Social Care Trust work together with other service
providers such as Autism Initiatives.”
Active Lifestyles
Project
Newcastle service user volunteers are
helping the Mourne Heritage Trust to
clear a site to plant native hardwoods at
Dunnywater in the Mourne Mountains.
Some of the service users and staff
member Julian also serve on the Trust’s
new Steering Group.
Trust Director, Trevor Millar, added: “The Trust has recently restructured peripatetic services to
support this important new service development which will provide the cornerstone of a whole life
approach to the needs of individuals, families and carers.”
Grainne Close, Assistant Director, Autism Initiatives Northern Ireland stated, “Just as other young
people can decide to move from home to live independently, people with Autism should have that
opportunity too. Through services like Floating Support, we provide that vital support for people
with Autism to have independence in their own accommodation.”
The photo shows Charles, Brian, Alan,
Amy, Julian, Margaret, James and Aaron
Newsletter Action
Day
Most of our service users are registered
with ‘Volunteer Now’ our local volunteer
Agency, and several of them, supported
by Volunteer Now staff, help to mail
out the twice yearly Newsletter at the
Bryansford Road Day Centre.
Sarah Burke (floating support staff), Trevor Millar (Western
Trust Director of Adult Mental Health), John Campbell
(Director Autism Initiatives N.Ireland), Dara Mullholland
(floating support staff), Bryan (service user), Alan (service
user), Dale Mitchell (Autism Initiatives, Service Manager),
Christine Kirkpatrick (floating support staff), Clare McGale
(floating support staff).
“This service is an
excellent example
of what can be
achieved through
a partnership
approach”
Newcastle Volunteers
Through ‘Volunteer Now’ Newcastle Day Service
users make a real contribution to their local
community … and far beyond.
Tools for Solidarity in Downpatrick is a Charity, run
entirely by volunteers, which promotes awareness
of sustainability and development. TfS, including
some of our service users, recently collected and
sent a container full of sewing machines (350!)
and over 800kg of tools and other materials to
Mwanza in Tanzania to help women and disabled
people living in rural areas. This was the result of
6 months work.
The photo shows Tania, John, Julia and
Aaron hard at it!
The photo shows service user Charles, who participated in the project, with John Alibankoha,
the co-founder of RUPAD – Rural People in Action For Development.
Pumpkin Pastures
Pumpkin Pastures is a multidisciplinary project
which gives Northern Ireland service users the
opportunity to develop skills in horticulture,
encourage healthy living and enable them work
together toward a common goal.
The site in Newcastle, Co Down is still in its
infancy but has a fully equipped poly-tunnel,
raised beds and (essentially) a shed –a handy
place to have a hot cuppa on a cold day!
We already have broad beans, oriental brassicas,
tomatoes and onions coming along nicely in the
poly-tunnel. We also have under development a
soft fruit area in which has strawberries, raspberries
and redcurrants - perfect for jam making. Most of
the produce is to be sold to other services but some
products, such as the hanging baskets that have just
been planted, are to be sold into the local community.
€1000 raised at coffee morning
Ireland
The Lovely Ladies at the Riverwalk Café together with students and staff at The Anchorage held a
successful fundraising event in the Café. And what a fun event it was.
For the ‘Coffee Morning’ we set up a stall with all the wonderful jewellery, decorations and
wood crafts the students had been working on but as well as that we had a clown, musicians,
magicians and - what no fundraiser would be without - a Raffle!
The coffee morning was a lot of fun and a huge success, raising over €1000.
Autism Initiatives and the Team at the Anchorage would like to thank the people of Wicklow for
helping them with this fundraising endeavour, with special thanks going to the wonderful staff at
the Riverwalk Café, who allowed us to put on this event.
The event has given us a good contribution toward our annual summer holiday, which provides a
welcome opportunity for several of our students, young adults with autism, to go on holidays with
friends.
Aron listens to his music despite the efforts
of the Musician Clown
A line up of some of the helpers at his
successful event
The Great White...
A Day To
Remember
Three of our service users in Ireland
took advantage of a once in a lifetime
opportunity to see Tutankhamun and His
Treasures at Dublin’s RDS. The trio of
would be Indiana Jones’s were greeted
by a large statue of Tutankhamun as they
entered the Hall
Richard, Alan and Gretta were able
to gaze at over 1,000 exhibits in this
amazing exhibition spread across
2,500m2 of space. The exhibition
gave them the amazing experience of
‘discovering’ the tomb of the young
Pharaoh through a labyrinth of tunnels
and chambers to the burial chamber just
as Howard Carter did in 1922. They were
told of what lay ahead so that they could
be prepared.
Captain Ahab’s quest was for Moby Dick, but Dominic’s adventure was going to be with another
Great White Sea Dwelling Beast, the HSS.
Since we’ve known Dominic he has always talked about sailing with his mum on the HSS, so
what better way to spend a day than to take Dominic across the Irish Sea. We organised the trip
without Dominic’s knowledge and only told him about it a few days before. After that Dominic
couldn’t stop talking about it - the expression “smiling from ear to ear” doesn’t fully portray his
joy.
It was certainly an experience that will
not be forgotten easily. What a great
day!
Dominic met Keith at Bray Dart Station: beaming: (Keith was looking forward to it too, he has
similar childhood memories) , so they headed off to Dun Laoghiare to catch the Ferry.
Dominic waited patiently for the boat to arrive, trying to get first sight of it. When the HSS
docked, Dominic headed straight to his special seat – even though it had been 10 years since he
last sat on it. Neither Dominic nor Keith were too impressed with Holyhead but that didn’t bother
them as they still had the return journey to look forward to! Dominic is still smiling and still talking
about the day Keith took him on the HSS. We’re sure he’ll keep talking about it for months to
come.
The Wheel
The team at ASD Initiatives in Ireland was delighted to have
been short listed for an award in the The Wheel’s ‘Better
Together Campaign’
The Wheel is a state funded body representing the views and
interests of the community and voluntary sector, and the national
competition was aimed at raising public awareness of work
within the sector.
‘Competing’ in the large organisation category with the likes of
Special Olympics Ireland and The Blue Cross, we were invited to
the event in Dublin Castle where the winners were announced.
Unfortunately we didn’t win on this occasion, but just wait till
next year.
We want to thank all the staff for their ideas and for getting
people voting, we had great input from our working group of
Amanda, Aileen, Louise, Ann, Brenda, Kevin, Jane & Derek.
Special thanks to Derek from the Paddocks who gave so much
of his own time to put the images into video format.
FirstInitiatives
I N D E P E N D E N C E
T H R O U G H
S U P P O R T
Goddard Hall Visible in the Community
Goddard Hall and its café play a big part in enabling
our service users to meet with each other, break down
boundaries between those with disabilities and able–
bodied people and provide a mutual support system. The
facility also caters for several community, youth and faith
groups.
The development of Goddard Hall as a training and work
experience base for vulnerable adults has taken a big step
with help of a £20,000 grant from Adult Health and Social
Care Department. The funding, from the Mental Health
‘Single Capital Pot’, has helped us to refurbish the kitchen,
replace windows, purchase furniture for the café and to
provide us with some garden equipment.
We now have a number of volunteers with learning
disabilities training in the café and the garden, gaining
occupational skills, developing team skills and enjoying
themselves.
Goddard Hall has been working toward the Visible
Standards and has recently put itself forward for
accreditation. The first stage will be a desk based
assessment by Community Matters (the accrediting
body) of all our key policies, procedures and governance
structures. This will be followed by a site visit during which
the assessor will meet and interview our Board of Trustees,
Managing Director, Co-ordinator and our ‘Committee’
which is made of hirers and volunteers.
Sefton Annual Quality Awards
First Initiatives is delighted to announce that its Sefton Mental Health
Crisis House was a winner at the Sefton Health and Social Care Quality
Awards, in the category of Improving Patient Experience (Community).
This was Sefton’s first Annual Quality Awards programme to recognise
high quality of care and excellence in health care service delivery across
the whole of Sefton.
The Award not only recognises the quality both the crisis support
service direct to those who need it, but also our ability to work
effectively in Partnership with other leading professional teams such as
MerseyCare, CHART and Sefton Supporting People to meet the needs
of ‘the patient’.
Director Andy Bowskill said, “I am overjoyed that we have are the
winners in this category as there was stiff competition from other quality
service providers. I would like to thank all those involved at Crisis
House and our partners for their vital role in the success of this service.”
The icing on the award cake came when a special Chief Executive ’s
Award was presented to ‘First Initiatives’ for its Crisis House service.
“The Alexandra Mount centre offers high quality support for its service
users, providing them with an effective alternative to hospital treatment
in a homely environment.”
“The judges were not only impressed by the quality of First Initiatives
service and its ability to consider service user’s views, but also the
partnership approach to the delivery of this service”.
The Visible Standards are aimed at medium to large
community organisations, often referred to as community
anchors, and are the only Nationally Accredited Quality
Standard specifically for the community sector.
The name is an acronym derived from:
designed and produced by redwood press ltd 08444 128 124
Voice to represent issues of local concern
Independent and politically neutral organisation
Service provider for local people
Initiator of projects to meet locally identified needs
Builder of partnerships with other local organisations
and groups
Local network of people and organisations
Engage local people to become active in their
communities.
These seven standards underpin strong sustainable
community organisations.
The photograph shows Padmini Anathaman (right)
receiving a Visible Community Award on behalf of
Goddard Hall at a recent presentation ceremony.
Bollywood Night
Goddard Hall is hosting a Bollywood
Night on the 18th May. There will be
Indian food and dance and a good
time to be had by all.
For more information, please contact
Padmini at Goddard Hall - 0151 933 2696.
Tickets for this event are £1.
This Newsletter is edited and produced by Keith Roberts at
Autism Initiatives UK. Charity No. 702632.
www.autisminitiatives.org.
Keith would like to thank all of those
people who contributed to this issue.
If you would like to know more about the
stories in this edition, have news to tell
or events to promote, please contact
Keith on 0151 203 2321 or by email to
[email protected].