Funding success in Cornwall

Press Release

European Social Fund backs employment for people with learning disabilities in Cornwall

United Response, the national disability charity, is delighted to announce that it has been selected as a key partner in a new project to support people with learning disabilities in Cornwall into employment.

The project is “Cornwall Works for Learning Disability” and is funded by the European Social Fund. The other key partners are Cornwall People First (a local advocacy group), Cornwall Council’s department of adult social care and service providers Brandon Trust and Home Farm Trust.

Currently, up to ninety per cent of people with learning disabilities are unemployed, despite the fact that two thirds want to work. Yet a United Response study released earlier this year – “Being Something I Always Wanted To Be” – found enormous benefits when people with learning disabilities are employed, both for the person and their employer.

The new project will therefore seek to identify people with a learning disability who want to work, and then match them with employers who have suitable vacancies. Job coaches will work with both employer and employee, ensuring that both parties fully benefit. The project’s ambitious target is to work with 570 people by 2010. 106 will be found paid work, while others will be supported to go into training, education or voluntary work.

Debbie Crowther has been named as United Response’s business development manager, responsible for spearheading the project. She has a wealth of experience working with people with learning disabilities, including facilitating Cornwall’s Learning Disability Partnership Board. “We hope this project will prove the real positive impact employment has for people with learning disabilities, and how to bring that about with intelligent, targeted investment,” Debbie said. “I’m very excited about getting on with the job of finding the excellent potential employees we know are in Cornwall, as well as benefiting from genuine partnership with so many excellent organisations.”
United Response was selected as a partner as a result of the excellent results its supported employment schemes have achieved across England.

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For more information, please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237 or 020 8246 5122 or email sarah.bartlett@unitedresponse.org.uk or jaime.gill@unitedresponse.org.uk

Notes to editors:

United Response is a national charity that works with people with learning disabilities or mental health needs – including some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

We provide everything from 24 hour care to a few hours of support a week. United Response is community based, working in many localities across England and Wales.

Our mission is to support people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to take control of their lives. We design our care and support around each person and work with them to achieve real inclusion, independence and citizenship for all. We support people across the whole spectrum of learning disability and mental health and have developed a range of specialisms in working with people with the most complex needs, particularly person-centred active support.

We are working towards a society where people with learning disabilities or mental health needs are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

We have won several awards for our pioneering work and for being a top employer. In 2007 alone, we were highly commended by the Charity Awards for our ‘Good To Great’ approach to providing support, while the Charity Times named us one of the best six charities to work for in the UK. We are experts in the development of accessible communications.

United Response was founded in 1973 by chief executive Su Sayer. We are a top 100 charity, supporting more than 1,500 people throughout the UK at any one time and employing more than 2,000 staff.

        
• © 2002-2009 United Response
• Registered Charity No. 265249