Volunteers in Wickham Market have been celebrating after being awarded a £5,000 grant for their project.
The Aspire Centre Project provides a supervised day care facility for vulnerable adults was recognised for its work in networking and bringing together 30 different services to create an integrated health and social care hub.
They have been awarded the money by the The Working Together Community Fund: an awards programme open to voluntary and community organisations in Suffolk.
It is funded by Suffolk County Council and is managed by the Suffolk Community Foundation who recognised the projects ability to bring the community together with a private sector partner, namely De Vere Care.
The project in Wickham Market got underway in 2014 when Suffolk County Council announced that Lehmann House, a residential care home for those living with dementia in the village, would be closing.
In 2015 the Trustees of three local voluntary groups began looking to secure part of the facility as an adult day care centre.
“We had a clear idea of what we were looking for and were not prepared to compromise on what good care should and could look like,” said project leader Pam Bell, “We envisaged a service where all organisations involved with adult social care would work together with a private sector care provider.”
The day care centre opened its doors at Christmas 2017 and now looks after a number of people locally, through a number of different events including weekly coffee mornings and the Friday lunch club.
“This has been an amazing journey through red tape and the doubters,” said Mrs Bell, “Our community has pulled together to make a wish become a reality.”
By next Spring the group hope to have upped the number of people they help to between 60-80 a week.
With the grant they have been the volunteers hope to buy among other things interactive technology to help encourage conversation among their visitors.
Tony Goldson the chair of the Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Board said: “This project proves the value of community involvement in health and social care. It is a model for other to follow.”
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