Mp To Learn How Shaw Trust Changes Lives

A local MP is so impressed by the way Shaw Trust is turning people's lives around she is paying a special visit to find out the secret of the charity's success.

Your reporter and photographer are invited to attend the visit of MP Hilary Armstrong to Shaw Trust Horticultural Project
Where: Shaw Trust Garden Centre, The Heathway, Parkside, Seaham, County Durham, SR7 7UD
When: Friday, January 25^th
From: 2pm

A local MP is so impressed by the way Shaw Trust is turning people's lives around she is paying a special visit to find out the secret of the charity's success.

Hilary Armstrong, Labour MP for North West Durham is visiting the Seaham Horticultural Project on Friday January 25th to learn how employment charity Shaw Trust is so successful at supporting learning disability clients, helping them into employment, further education, placements and work experience.

"I am really pleased to get the opportunity to see at first hand the work that Shaw Trust is doing in helping people back to work. The intensive, personalised support and the dedication of Shaw Trust staff is crucial to enabling people to fulfil their potential and turn their lives around," she said.

Karen Stubbings, Shaw Trust's regional manager for North East and Scotland , and project team leader Elaine Duffy are looking forward to welcoming her to the project which is funded by Durham County Council Social Services.

The MP will be joined by VIP guests including Mayor Cllr Bruce Burn, Tim Dredge, Team Manager Easington Integrated Adult Learning Disability Team and some of the project's 27 clients.

VIPs will meet three clients who are all moving into paid work this month after successful work placements through the project.

Michael Storey 38 from Seaham starts work in a local pub, Graham Bradshaw 42 from Horden will work on a horticultural project for the Trust and Julie Smith 38 has a job in a hairdressers.

"Clients focus on finding out what work is all about, build up self-confidence and gain basic literacy and numeracy skills," explained Karen.

"This visit is a brilliant opportunity for Shaw Trust to shine, for people to recognise that what we are doing is so valuable and that people with learning disabilities can and will be employed and integrate with society," Karen said.

The Seaham Project has made huge strides in the past four years thanks to the work of Shaw Trust, the country's leading third sector provider of employment services for people disadvantaged in the workplace by disability, ill health or social circumstance.

The thriving project now holds garden maintenance contracts with some of the area's leading employers and provides the local council with summer bedding plants, grown on the five-acre site.

Clients are also responsible for maintaining the gardens of local residents; they make and sell a range of garden furniture and Christmas wreaths.

The project is also open to the public throughout the year for plant sales and provides a host of work-focused training opportunities.

"The client group we took over was seen by everybody to be more day centre clients but we recognised that a lot of them had potential," Karen pointed out.

"For many of them it's about progressing into employment and we identified a high number of clients who could move into training or work placements that could lead to employment.

"Many people have potential and we are gradually helping them move on into employment," she added.

Shaw Trust Director for Scotland Thomas Moan who will be present at the visit, stressed the importance of new developments to continue providing the kind of supportive workplace needed to help clients gain confidence and skills:
"We have a number of ideas such as a book recycling enterprise that we are keen to talk to Hilary about, as we need as much support as possible to establish new ventures and help as many people as possible."

Seaham, an ex-mining town was hit hard by the closure of its pit, but the area is now experiencing a revival.

"The Government has invested so much money into Seaham; we have new shopping precincts and new businesses going up all over the place and we want to be part of it," said Team Leader Elaine Duffy.

"In the past four years Shaw Trust has changed clients' belief in themselves and some of them have so much confidence now.

"We've had so much success and gratitude and positive feed back. We make this project a working environment. It's certainly not a day centre.

"People sign in and every single client is allocated to a member of staff with photographs on the walls for those who can't read so they can see who they're with that day.

"Everything is totally client focussed and we are looking forward to being able to demonstrate our unique working model to Hilary Armstrong.

"We give every single client an individual training plan and 100 per cent support to work towards their goals. We aim to progress every client and we are changing people's lives."

Editors Notes

1. For further details, please contact Shaw Trust Communication Manager Helen Durnion on 18002 01642 371791 or Becky Gammon on 07779 784901 or you can email: crucialpr@shaw-trust.org.uk

2 . Shaw Trust is a national charity, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007, which helps people with disability or disadvantage to find work and achieve independence. We do this not only by delivering government programmes, but also through our own self-funded initiatives, and by campaigning to change attitudes at all levels.

3. Across the UK more than 1,200 staff now oversee a diverse range of more than 200 projects.

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