Learning Disabilities

How we provide support

Volunteer Support Initially we meet with those showing interst in volunteering to gain an insight into his or her skills, interests and reasons for getting involved; be this to gain work experience or simply keep busy and meet new people. There is a variety of opportunities available ranging from helping in charity shops, offices, health services and more.  Whatever the area of interest may be, we will do our very best to match each individual to the right opportunity.

Following the initial meeting we will search for relevant opportunities, support the client to choose which opportunity to apply for and escort to organisations offering the opportunity of interest. If he/she is unsure of which opportunity to follow up, we may suggest one or two taster sessions to help them decide. Once accepted as a volunteer we can accompany volunteers when they start their new placement; support them in learning the journey to and from home again and with the tasks involved if need be.

The aim of this scheme is to support each person to volunteer independently whenever possible and due to the involvement of volunteer buddies, there is no limit on the time we can spend with each individual.

As well as having access to individual placements, we also provide group activities.  Our Mailing Group works on an ad hoc basis, supporting local charities and statutory bodies to send out large amounts of mail.  Our Gardening Group runs during the warmer months of the year, tidying up the gardens belonging to elderly or disabled residents and links with local housing agencies.

An accessible guide to volunteering is available on request.

Organisational Support
The other part of our work is to helping Volunteer Involving Organisation’s,to develop or carve pportunities for our clients, providing advice and support on involving people with learning disabilities as volunteers, through group training sessions or 1:1 advice sessions. As mentioned above, we are able to support our clients when they volunteer and will only withdraw when everyone involved is confident in us doing so.

It is worth noting that people with learning disabilities often make very committed, long term volunteers once appropriate support is in place and involving our clients as volunteers can be an extremely rewarding experience for everyone involved.

For further information, or to request a project information pack please contact us.  

Contact

Learning Disabilities Information Pack The Centre’s Learning Disabilities Project has recently produced project information pack specifically for volunteer involving organisations. The aim of this pack is to provide an insight into our work and presents information, advice and basic guidelines More ...