|
|
 |
| |
?Alexis Keir, director of Elfrida Rathbone Camden |
25 years of supporting young in need
Downing Street plays host to celebrate charity that brings vulnerable youths in from cold
ELFRIDA Rathbone came from a prominent Victorian family.
Born in Liverpool in 1871, she worked as a volunteer for a number of charities throughout her life.
She came to King’s Cross in 1916 to a special kindergarten for young children considered “un-educatable” and “mentally defective”.
Her aim was to demonstrate that children could learn and progress if given appropriate teaching.
That legacy is alive and well, according to Alexis Keir, director of Elfrida Rathbone Camden (ERC).
The ERC charity has provided a range of free services to some of the most vulnerable people in society from its Dowdney Close headquarters in Kentish Town for 25 years.
The milestone anniversary was marked at a special reception at 11 Downing Street on Thursday night.
Mr Keir and his staff got the invite from Maggie Darling, wife of the Chancellor Alistair, who is a friend of one of the staff at ERC, as part of a government drive aiming to boost the voluntary sector and the profile of a number of independent charities.
Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah also attended.
Mr Keir said: “Maggie rang me up and said she was going to let us use Number 11 to have a do. She told me our reception was the best there had been so far.
“She was not just saying that – I could tell. We were not supposed to bring our service users down, but we insisted and Maggie was particularly impressed with the confidence with which they spoke.”
Building confidence is the bottom line for Elfrida, which each year helps hundreds of families find a foothold in society.
The service’s main work is split into four projects, one of which is called Parents & Co, offering one-on-one help, a crèche and advocacy. It has spawned a splinter group called Our Family, for parents with learning disabilities, which meets once a month.
With increasing anxiety about special educational needs, and awareness of conditions including autism, Mr Keir said the SEN advocacy was providing an essential service to parents in Camden.
“The SEN advocacy provides services to help families with children who are having problems accessing the education system,” he said. “It is very complicated at the best of times, but we can hold their hand through the minefield.
“Parents with learning difficulties have been told for their lifetimes that they will not be able properly to look after their kids. They run into stereotypes and assumptions that they cannot take care of their kids. But we show them that they can, with the proper support.”
The advocacy service, run from its modest office and with just four full-time staff, helps around 250 families each year.
Mr Keir said: “One of our other projects is called the Leighton Project. It concentrates on giving teenagers skills for life. We do things like work placements for young people with learning difficulties aged between 16 and 25.
“They go and work one day a week in places like City Farm and Iceland. John Lewis in Oxford Street have been really amazing. But it is not just about giving young people vocational skills. We run many projects that help them explore their creativity. They go to exhibitions and have drama classes.
“Many of these young people have missed out at school. They are written off at an early age – like many disabled people – normally on things like literacy, numeracy and memory. We help them fill in the gaps.
“We get referrals from schools and colleges and social services – it is not just restricted to Camden.”
Sounds great. So how many people are benefiting from the service? Just 13 a year.
Mr Keir said: “Of course, the students benefit from the intimacy, but it would be better to have more.”
Last but not least, ERC runs a youth club for young disabled people. The 7 O’Clock Club is open twice a week from 7pm.
Teenagers are transported from across Camden so they can play games including table-tennis and listen to music.
“We think that these people should be able to go to any of the youth clubs and feel at home,” said Mr Keir. “But often, for one reason or another, they do not feel like they can. Part of our work is going into other youth clubs and advising their staff on this.”
As with all services of their ilk, restrictions on funding are a huge burden.
“Of course, everyone can always do with more money,” said Mr Keir. “Our problem is twofold. First, we do not get grants any more. We are funded to provide a particular service. That means we are constantly being assessed and reassessed and it is hard to find funds to explore new projects.
“We would like to branch out into Islington and we are thinking of running a project for parents with children in prison. Secondly, there is an uncertainty of funding. At best you know what you have for the next year so you can never plan too far ahead.”
|
 |
|
| |
| Your comments: |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
