We work in partnership with Disabled people, carers, other agencies and community groups to provide a range of quality, meaningful activities, employment options and learning opportunities for Disabled people in North East Somerset.

We work in a wide area covering the whole of North East Somerset including the large residential areas of Norton / Radstock and Keynsham.

The core service is managed from Connections in Radstock we also manage a smaller service in Keynsham for local residents and have an outreach base in Midsomer Norton.

We provide services for people who have been assessed as needing them by a social worker or care manager.

We work in with a number of organisations including NESA (North East Somerset Arts) The Brandon Trust, Norton Radstock College, The Community Learning Service, The Environmental Health Dept, The Primary Care Trust and the Life skills Centre

We believe that Disabled people have every right to be fully involved and accepted in the community. It is our role to support individuals to find out what is available and help people develop any skills they may need to join in community life. This includes support to find and keep employment.

We believe strongly that services should be person centred, this means that we work closely with each individual and the people who are important to them. We support people to make informed choices to help them lead the life they want.

We encourage people to have Person Centred Plans and are building up our skills and experience so that we can facilitate and support good planning.

We think good communication skills and systems are essential and we work hard to ensure we listen carefully and provide information in ways that are easy to understand. We place a great deal of emphasis on good consultation, encouraging and supporting people to have a say not only in their own lives but in the way the service is run. We actively promote an accessible complaints procedure, clients and management meet weekly to discuss any problem areas.

We support and encourage people to join in ordinary activities with other members of the community; this might be going to college, finding a job or joining in social groups.

We also provide a range of activities ourselves these include sessions in the local community for example we have a bases in Keynsham and Midsomer Norton, we use the sports centres , NESA arts centre and Youth Clubs .

We provide services for people who need high levels of support, we work closely with the Community Learning Difficulty Team health professionals to support people to have their health needs met. We work together and assist with Physiotherapy programmes, hearing assessments, communication skills and sensory work. People who need higher levels of support are encouraged and supported to take part in any activity they may wish to try at their own pace and with the resources they need to enable them to join in.

We have some fantastic projects such as Humbug Theatre Company who have written and performed locally and in London, they have just released their first CD – Remember My Dreams. We have a ceramics business Tiles Extra who produce a wide range of products and take commissions for Tiles. We have just completed a project called Fit To Eat in partnership with the Council’s health Development Officer and the Life skills Centre which has produced a really useful resource pack on Food Safety and Healthy Lifestyles for people to use at home. We also have a healthy eating box scheme called Feel Good Food, all the ingredients and easy to follow recipe cards for two healthy meals a week.

Please visit our accessible website at www.wehaveachoice.co.uk for more information.