At Outward, we have been supporting adults with learning disabilities and autism, young people, and older people to live their lives to the fullest since 1975. Our excellent staff play a key role in helping the people in our community achieve their goals. However, as a charity founded by volunteers, we know how important the help of the community is when trying to make a difference. Your generosity helps us maximize our impact, whether through making a donation or volunteering to get involved.
You can find out more about the ways your support makes a difference below. For more information about what we’ve achieved in 2021/2022, click here to read our Annual Report.
Corinthia achieves her dream of living independently
For her whole adult life, Corinthia shared a home with other people. While she loved the company of her housemates, she longed for the opportunity to live independently. Her goal was to move into her own flat.
Corinthia confided in her support workers about her ambition. With their help, Corinthia moved to a new one-bedroom flat. Despite the challenges of living alone for the first time, she is thriving in her new home. “I have been here for one year, it’s a better place to live,” she says.
Her walls are proudly decorated with art she made herself, and she loves to cook chicken and rice in her kitchen. Living independently isn’t lonely for Corinthia, as she’s always catching up with her neighbours and is out and about in the community. She attends a monthly disco, visits the library, participates in workshops, holidays at Nutley Edge, and goes on outings with her old flatmates.
Skye grows in confidence
When Skye came to Outward, he was shy and lacked confidence. He’d never lived independently before and was the only young person at the service with a learning disability. At first, he struggled to find his footing.
Then, Skye was paired with his key worker, Marvin, who was determined to help him become more confident and independent.
With Marvin supporting him along the way, Skye began volunteering with young children at a nearby school. The teachers thought he had natural talent and for the first time in his life he was enjoying work.
Marvin continued to encourage Skye. Over the next few months, Skye volunteered with Outward’s Community Engagement team to write and star in a video advising Outward’s tenants about how save on their energy bills. He also went on a group holiday to the Lake District, and made some new friends.
Now, Skye has enrolled at a local college to train as a nursery assistant and is exciting to be starting a career he finds fulfilling. Marvin also won a national Support Worker Award at the National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards for his work with Skye. We can’t wait to see what great things they both achieve next.
Suzie thrives at Nutley Edge
Whenever you meet Suzie, she’s bound to tell you all about her recent holiday to Nutley Edge, or when she’s visiting again next. Suzie is one of the hundreds of people who have enjoyed a supported holiday in East Sussex. Supported by Outwards team of activity staff, the breaks give people the chance to try new things, make new friends and relax.
When Suzie is having a great time at Nutley Edge, her mum Jo has a break too. She can relax knowing that Suzie is busy doing activities she loves in the care of experienced staff.
“Suzie loves going to Nutley Edge… The excitement is great. She’s doing an activity without me, going away without me – it’s brilliant!” Jo has also noticed a great improvement in Suzie’s mental health.
“She’s got a topic to talk about because she talks about the things she’s done at Nutley Edge. That stops her focusing on her bad leg or whatever she’s got. It’s very good for her mental health. When Suzie hasn’t got much to do, her focus is her health.”
As Suzie says… “It’s great!”
Want to get involved?
It doesn’t take much to do something that will create a significant impact in the life of somebody with a learning disability or autism. Here are some ways that you can get involved:
Volunteer
Our fantastic volunteers help out in so many different ways, from acting as befrienders for adults with learning disabilities to lending us their graphic design skills. If you think you have a skill that could help us out, visit our volunteering page.
Donate
Your donations enable people to access important social and educational programming that can have a lasting impact on their wellbeing. At a time when many people are struggling financially, you can also help somebody participate in an essential respite break.