Livability News (Autumn 2014)

news Autumn 2014 Issue 17

Homes designed for living Livability launches The Home Design Appeal

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The Home Design Appeal launch event at Buckingham Palace

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Livability Dolphin Court in Essex

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Church is for all

Livability is the new face of John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society

Message from Dave Hello and welcome to the Autumn edition of Livability News.

They say home is where the heart is, and at the heart of our work is a desire to ensure the disabled people who are residents in our care services feel very much at home. With this in mind I am pleased to let you know that in July we welcomed 14 new residents as we acquired the Hampshire care facilities they call home.

We have also launched The Home Design Appeal, raising money for six Livability care homes in desperate need of renovations and adjustments to kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms to provide residents with real independence and choice.

Jane’s story on pages 4 and 5 is a real insight into the lives of many of our residents, individuals who care intensely about their independence.

In addition we have great news from our new care home in West Sussex. Refurbishments are due to be completed shortly, so by New Year of 2015, residents will be moving into a fully adapted Livability care home with accessible living spaces designed specifically for their needs.

With Christmas approaching we have some very special offers for you.

Tickets for our Livability Christmas carol concert on 9 December are now on sale and, again this year, we have a wonderful range of Livability Christmas cards to choose from to help you spread the Yuletide cheer.

I do hope you enjoy this issue of Livability News and please take a look at some of the ways you can help, continue to get involved and support our work.

All the best,

Dave Webber Chief Executive 2

News and Updates...

The Home Design Appeal launch at Buckingham Palace Livability was invited to hold a very special dinner at Buckingham Palace on 30 April hosted by our patron HRH The Princess Royal. The occasion marked the launch of our new fundraising campaign, The Home Design Appeal.

Our guests enjoyed a private dinner in the Music Room and watched a preview of The Home Design Appeal film.

Guests heard from HRH The Princess Royal, who spoke passionately about the role we all play in reducing the challenges disabled people face and the changes that must be made to enable them to do more for themselves.

See pages 4 and 5 for more on The Home Design Appeal and how you can get involved.

The Home Design Appeal event, hosted by HRH Princess Royal, was attended by Livability supporters and key staff including our Vice President, Senior Vice President, Vice Patron, and Chief Executive, Dave Webber.

New Livability homes in Hampshire Good News! Livability welcomed 14 new residents into our fold as we acquired four new care homes in Hampshire. This is great news for the residents who will still be near to the amenities, doctors and other services they are used to.

The new Hampshire residents are between 18 and 65 years old and have learning and/or physical disabilities. They are supported by a dedicated team and we look forward to sharing the knowledge and experience Livability has gained over the years to help the new team and services.

Please join us in welcoming the Livability Hampshire homes.

A victory for Claire Claire is a resident in one of Livability’s care homes in West Sussex where she enjoys an active and busy life. But Claire had to reclaim her independence in November 2012 when she was informed by her local council’s wheelchair services team that, due to her use of an electric wheelchair combined with her epilepsy, she was no longer allowed to leave home unaccompanied.

A lasting difference Livability Victoria Education Centre (VEC) works with disabled children and young people aged 3 – 19 and is helping to boost students’ physical and emotional wellbeing thanks to the new hydrotherapy pool.

The pool features a ‘direct to pool’ hoist, sensory equipment like bubble jets and sound, and enables the children and young people who use it to benefit from pain relief, exercise, relaxation and fun.

As with so much of our lifetransforming work, gifts made in Wills played a substantial part in funding the pool. The forethought and kindness of supporters who remembered Livability in their Will is helping around 100 students to enjoy the pool’s state of the art facilities each week, and will help many more disabled youngsters to benefit from it in the years to come.

We are incredibly grateful to supporters who have already included Livability in their Will. This precious source of funding will help us to continue to enable disabled people to live fuller, more independent lives, long into the future.

For information about leaving a gift to Livability in your Will please call our Supporter Services team on 020 7452 2121 (9am – 5pm weekdays) or tick the legacy information box on your reply form.

So Claire did a little investigative work of her own. She found that she wasn’t actually breaking the law so decided to challenge the decision. The local Livability team and her councillor leapt into action, sending regular e-mails, letters and making phone calls to the relevant team calling for the decision to be overturned.

She told us, “To start with they [wheelchair services] weren’t listening to me but I was not going to give up. Without Livability’s support I don’t think I could have coped.”

Between November 2012 and May this year, Claire had to have a chaperone just to leave the house, which understandably caused her a great deal of frustration. But there was good news on the way.

“When we found out in May that the decision had been overturned, everyone was delighted. Livability’s staff know that my independence means everything to me and they cared about the result as much as I did.”

For Claire things are now slowly returning to how they used to be.

Shiver me timbers This year the Livability Victoria Education Centre Creative Arts Week had a distinctive festival feel in the form of VECStock. The week-long event had a ‘Pirates’ theme with an array of activities including students baking ship biscuits, printing their own pirate flags, building a Livability galleon and, of course, a treasure hunt.

The festival continued with a visit from Si Genaro from BBC’s The Voice and live music from serveral bands, including some of VEC’s own home grown talent. Students enjoyed and participated in poetry readings throughout the day and there were relaxation areas, a DJ booth, a craft and design zone and an Eco area for students to visit at their leisure.

And the students didn’t just enjoy the final event; they were also instrumental in bringing it all together. They worked to consider accessibility for disabled patrons, got an insight into festival project mapping and management, produced soundtracks and some performed in bands on the festival stage.

A visitor to the event commented “I enjoyed it all.

All the students got involved and saw and heard the results of what they had done. It was a really enjoyable week.”

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Homes designed for living The Home Design Appeal at Livability Dolphin Court upgraded to enable more independence and freedom of choice.

This is a national campaign with a local focus on six of our care homes in greatest need; Harrow, Borehamwood, Edgware, Colchester, Norwich and Dolphin Court in Southend-on-Sea.

Jane at home at Dolphin Court

Our residential care home on the Essex seafront was purpose built with access for disabled people back in 1988.

As times change, Livability seeks to find the best ways to meet the needs of residents.

Jane, a resident at Livability Dolphin Court, tells us why developing her independence means so much.

Livability’s heritage is rooted in our work to ensure disabled people live in homes that meet their access needs and achieve real independence, choice and dignity. With the help of our supporters, we have sought to provide the very best care and facilities, continually looking for the solutions to give disabled people spaces which are designed specifically for their living.

The Home Design Appeal is our new fundraising campaign to raise funds for residents who need their kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms renovated and 4

Dolphin Court was the height of innovation in its day. The home was purpose-built for wheelchair users with extra-wide corridors and spacious rooms and all residents were offered a selfcontained flat with a bedroom/ sitting area, a kitchen and bathroom.

However, as technology advanced, many residents started to use larger wheelchairs, which made adjustable kitchen worktops and renovations to bathrooms essential.

Livability’s work is shaped by the feedback we receive from the disabled people we care for. We make a point of continually consulting with our residents to ensure that we identify their key needs and encourage disabled people to live as independently as possible to promote individual growth.

Jane has been a resident of Livablity Dolphin Court for over 8 years. It was her mum’s final wish that she move out of London, so Jane made the decision to leave her London care home and make her way to Southend-on-Sea. When she arrived at Livability Dolphin Court she was pleasantly surprised: “In the old place, the staff tried to do everything for

me.” Jane told us she would be actively discouraged by the staff when she attempted to do things for herself. “They would refuse and tell me, ‘no, I will do it’. I liked it at first, it was like when I lived at home, but as I got older I wanted to have my own place and do my own things, get more experience on my own, not have a carer to do more things for me. That’s why I want to live here at Dolphin Court.”

Livability staff continually facilitate residents living as independently as possible and actively encourage residents to manage their affairs, to meet new people and volunteer in their community.

But all residents are comforted by the knowledge that Livability staff are at hand to help at any time.

Jane told us, “The best thing about being at Dolphin Court is I have my own flat, my own friends, I can have a laugh and the staff all encourage me to do things for myself; when I need help I can just call.

Yesterday I cleaned my whole flat, I had some help, but I am learning to do things for myself.”

Cooking up a storm Jane has a number of hobbies and loves to be out meeting new people. She especially enjoys cooking: “In my previous place I had no kitchen, no bathroom. It‘s good having a kitchen of my own but it is hard to use. My kitchen needs changing, so I can use it in my wheelchair.”

Here’s some you made earlier The waiting is over for some of our residents as adaptations to their kitchens have already been installed.

Do you remember Lily? A resident of Livability Treetops in Colchester, Lily uses a wheelchair and found it difficult to access her worktop.

Lily’s new adjustable worktop and shallow sink now allows her to tackle these tasks independently.

She would love to prepare meals for herself, her family and friends when they come over but her current kitchen makes that difficult. “I can’t reach the cupboards to get ingredients, the hob is old and broken and I can’t get close enough with my wheelchair. I can’t use the sink properly because the work surface is too low. I do try to get underneath but because of my condition I sometimes begin to shake and my knees are too close to the worktop.”

Livability Dolphin Court is just one of the residential care homes in desperate need of the updates and adaptations that provide residents real freedom. We also want to ensure all our kitchens are specially designed to incorporate the latest innovations that allow disabled people to move freely and safely.

Do you remember Jim? He also had adjustments made to his kitchen. A pull-out tower unit allows Jim to reach the ingredients and equipment he needs to prepare meals.

At present Jane is unable to perform simple tasks like preparing a meal or washing the dishes. One answer would be to have Livability staff do all her cooking; but she doesn’t want that and neither do we, as we value Jane’s independence as much as she does. The Home Design Appeal is our new fundraising campaign to raise money to make these essential adaptations for Jane and many others like her.

Your support is essential to make this happen.

Take a look at our new Home Design Appeal film – www.livability.org.uk/home-design-appeal and make a donation using your reply form enclosed, or donate online.

There are many more residents who need your support today.

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Having homes that comfort: Adam Bonner Adam is Director of Livability’s Community Engagement and Communications Team, helping churches transform their communities.

What memories and images does the word “hospitality” conjure up in your mind? You may be reminded of a friend or relative who continually shows incredible generosity and a heartfelt welcome whenever you drop by. At this time of the year you may be thinking of how to accommodate visitors of your own over Christmas. You may even be considering how best to meet the needs of a disabled loved one and the special arrangements that are required to welcome them into your home.

Considering Jesus began life in a stable it’s even more inspiring that His life was consistently about helping others experience the unconditional hospitality and inclusion of God’s love – no matter how poor and no matter how society viewed them.

Every day, Livability offers hospitality to hundreds of people who are often on the margins of our society due to disability or social background. We also support and provide advice to churches on how best to welcome their disabled neighbours and our heart is to see people of all ages and backgrounds receive a true welcome and experience a sense of belonging.

Livability’s work ranges from raising awareness and funds through campaigns like The Home Design Appeal, to working with our partners in Churches for All as we seek to display our commitment to emulating the radical hospitality of Jesus Christ.

Church is for all Do churches enable people or disable them?

That was the theme of a major conference which Livability helped to organise this summer.

The Enabling Church conference attracted over 350 church leaders from as far afield as Aberdeen and Cornwall to learn more about how the church can respond to disability. There were talks on many aspects of disability – from practical tips on bringing up children with Autism to deep thinking on the nature of healing & wholeness. One series of talks about Deafness was all held in British Sign Language, while Livability’s Trevor Adams spoke as part of a panel about dementia.

“The Church has not always been on the side of people with disabilities,” said Clive Gregory, Bishop of Wolverhampton, in the opening speech. “Like many other institutions in society, we have succumbed to prejudices that have excluded those whose vulnerabilities have made other people feel vulnerable. But we are here as part of those who seek to address that past, those who are passionate in our belief that the Church should practise a generosity that reflects the abundance of God’s grace.”

Livability is a key partner within Churches for All, a network of Christian disability charities and experts. We work together to give churches practical advice and helpful theological thinking to enable them become more inclusive. As the UK’s largest Christian disability charity, we see it as part of our role to share our expertise and experience as widely as possible.

Our next London conference will be in Spring and will focus on how churches can work better with children and young people with special needs.

Livability Vice President Roy McCloughry addresses the conference

If you, or someone from your church, would like to know more about welcoming people with disabilities, Livability would love to help. We can provide information, training and resources to enable you reach out and include disabled people in your local community. For more information, simply call our Supporter Services team on 020 7452 2121 9am to 5pm weekdays or email at supporterservices@livability.org.uk.

We are constantly grateful for the support you all give to us through your prayer, donations, volunteering and encouragement, as together we keep making room for those we are called to serve.

The Enabling Church conference attracted disabled people and church leaders from all over the country

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Events Update

Livability Latchetts Garden Party

Friends of Livability John Grooms Court at the Royal Norfolk Show

Your Home Design Appeal Livability’s Home Design Appeal has had its big launch this Summer and some of our wonderful supporters have already come up with great ideas to help raise money and raise awareness. So why not get involved?

One way you can fundraise is to have a Home Design Appeal launch of your own. It doesn’t have to be as grand as Buckingham Palace but you could invite a group of friends around and they could donate the price of the meal to The Home Design Appeal. You could also follow Olympus KeyMed’s example. They selected Livability as their charity of the year and their 1,000-strong staff body at the Essex office raised over £3,700 to help renovate kitchens in Livability Dolphin Court with a “dress-down” day.

For the fourth year running Livability supporters, Rebeka and Laurence Hardy, opened up their beautiful garden in the West Sussex countryside for our supporters to enjoy. Visitors to the Latchetts garden savoured a tranquil afternoon taking in the stunning views of the North Downs, whilst basking in the glorious sunshine.

Entertainment was provided by a 35-piece brass band along with other contributors.

We raised over £4,000 through donations, a tombola and a gardening quiz, and the tea and cakes flowed throughout the day provided by the Livability Café.

Thanks to all who made the day fun and a fundraising success!

Virgin London Marathon 2015 Sunday 26 April 2015

This year’s Royal Norfolk Show included a Livability stand manned by the Friends of Livability John Grooms Court. They spent the day speaking with visitors and letting them know about our Norfolk based appeal to renovate residents’ kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.

The group had worked tirelessly to create a magnificent knitted flower pergola that was showcased in the flower tent of this prestigious agricultural show. Visitors to the stand included HRH The Earl of Wessex.

2015 could be your year to run the London Marathon with Team Livability! You would not only have completed the achievement of a lifetime but also be helping to raise funds for Livability’s work. Friends and family are welcome to join in too so please let them know we have places available.

We’ll support you, and them, every stride of the way from registration to your very own cheering committee on the day, and an exclusive invite to the post-race party.

If you have a great idea for fundraising and would like to talk it through, please do get in touch.

Registration fee: £50 + VAT (£60) Minimum sponsorship: £1500

Keep an eye out for future local appeals by visiting our website at www.livability.org.uk/home-design-appeal

Please contact our Supporter Services team on 020 7452 2121 for information or visit our website at www.livability.org.uk/events

Christmas Carol Concert St Martin-in-the-Fields Church Tuesday 9 December, 7pm You are warmly invited to an evening of festive carols, readings and hymns, hosted by BBC’s Songs of Praise presenter Pam Rhodes.

Bring along friends and family and enjoy music from the London Symphony Orchestra and students from Livability Nash College, with a variety of readings from some well-known celebrities.

This is the most popular event in the Livability calendar so don’t miss out. Book now to reserve your place, early booking is recommended.

Tickets cost £12.50 each.

Visit www.livability.org.uk/carolservice or book by phone on 020 7452 2121 Lines are open Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm Pam Rhodes hosts a Q&A with Dave Webber, Livability CEO

50 Scrutton Street, London EC2A 4XQ T: 020 7452 2121 Email: supporterservices@livability.org.uk

www.livability.org.uk Registered charity no. 1116530