Reachout
Aylesbury Methodist community centre is now the home of Reachout, a new day service for people with learning difficulties. They held an open day on 21st July which was attended by parents, staff, councillors and friends and was featured on Mix 96 local radio.
The leader is Julie Maguire, a Senior Day Opportunities worker and member at the Aylesbury church. Julie identified a gap in the service provision for those with the potential to develop some level of independent living. Reachout seeks to develop those skills through formal training courses and a culture of enabling clients to plan and implement what they want to do. This includes a drop-in facility for some more able clients who come on Thursday for planning.
“The service is user led”, said Julie. “That means that we don’t control and programme their day. We enable them to learn skills. They plan what they want to do and we help them to do it.”
Formal training courses of up to one or two years will be run by members of the Adult Education Service on subjects such as employability, personal and social development, personal safety awareness, budgeting and travel training. A qualified nurse will run health sessions.
Being based in the church’s community centre with other user groups offers a different culture to the Bierton Hill Centre which caters exclusively for the full spectrum of learning disabilities. Reachout will help people to reach their full potential. For some, this may be employment in simple, unskilled work. So work experience in the church coffee bar and other appropriate areas will be helpful preparation for this.
Some clients live with their parents, some live in supported flats and some live in small staffed units across Aylesbury. “For all of them, Reachout offers a life enriching experience”, said Julie.