GHP November 2017 - Texas A&M

26 GHP / November 2017 , 1706GH04 A Supportive Organisation Thera East Anglia is a not for profit organisation, supporting people with a learning disability with a diverse range of needs. We profile the organisation as we look to gain an insight into their success. Established in 1998, Thera Trust has grown from supporting five people in Cambridgeshire in their own home, to providing a range of support across the UK for over 2,100 people through 18 subsidiary companies. This includes supported living at home, working with people to help them be part of the local community and finding homes to suit an individual’s specific needs. Thera is a charitable group of companies which support people with a learning disability with a diverse range of needs. Thera Trust is the parent of the Thera Group and provides business and admin support from its office in Grantham. This enables the companies to focus on delivering high quality support locally. Essentially, Thera East Anglia supports adults with a learning disability in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The organisation can support people in their home, in their community and for short breaks. Additionally, staff can help people to find a job, get work experience and gain important life skills as part of its support during the day. The organisation also helps people who live with a learning disability reach their goals, by planning their support with the person, and also others who are considered to be important in their life. Possessing a lot of experience supporting people who have complex needs and/or autism. Beneficial to people with learning disabilities, Thera East Anglia has different ways of checking the quality of support. This includes visits from the Service Quality Director, David Parker – who has a learning disability - as well as checks by independent companies which complete peer audits. The team want and aim to deliver great support to people with a learning disability. Thera have a strong vision, and values which are based on equality, dignity, choice and independence. Having previously signed up to the Driving Up Quality Code, the organisation has taken time to look at how it supports and enables people with learning disabilities to be independent, checking on quality in light of the code’s standards. The organisation on the whole has agreed that the standards in the code are very important and it wants to be excellent in all areas. There are currently 70,000 adults with a learning disability living with their parents. As they grow older this arrangement may last for 50 years or more. In line with the rest of the population, very few parents have done any future planning or even written a will. Thera has published the English edition of ‘Safe and Secure’, a book which provides advice and guidance on how to get started with the process of future planning. The book helps parents to make sure their relative with a learning disability is well supported and has what they need when the parent is no longer around to care for them. Ultimately, with the main mission of supporting people with learning disabilities, the organisation and its team provide a variety of services and projects which contribute to people living a normal life. Thera East Anglia not only believe that people with a learning disability can be leaders, they lead by example and show it, too. Organisation: Thera East Anglia Contact: Lorna Weston Contact Email: [email protected] Address: The West House, Swingbridge Road, Grantham, NG31 7XT, UK Phone: 0300 3030 1281 Website: www.thera.co.uk