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🎉 We are absolutely thrilled that Rachael has been announced as a finalist for the Learning Disability and Autism Leaders' List Awards! 🙌 Rachael, who is a member of our Hft Luv2meetU service as well as a member of our Walk in Our Shoes Network, has been recognised for her advocacy work particularly in relation to changing attitudes. She has thrown herself into her work and taken every opportunity to speak up about the barriers faced by learning disabled people. She has also recently become an NHS Oliver McGowan trainer, helping to ensure that the needs of learning disabled adults are met by health care professionals. 🏆 The full awards ceremony is being held later in the year and we wish Rachael the best of luck!
🙌 “We are delighted to be part of this exciting partnership. Commitment to diverse and accessible recruitment is invaluable, and this partnership will make an incredible difference to the lives of the interns who participate.” 💼 HM Revenue & Customs has become the first Government department to team up with our supported employment partner DFN Project SEARCH and offer supported internships to students who have special educational needs or autism in Liverpool!
💼 Less than 5% of people with learning disabilities are in paid employment, so we are thrilled to see that the Palace of Westminster have appointed 6 new employees who have Down's Syndrome! 💜 Work is such a huge part of a person’s life experience, and anyone who wants to work should have the opportunity to do so.
💬 "I have never been a traditional academic so when I realised I could gain a qualification whilst learning practically, there was no stopping me!" 💼 It's National Apprenticeship Week this week and we spoke to some of our current Hft apprentices about what life is like as an apprentice in the social care sector
"We were delighted to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Hwb Cyfle as a dedicated and long-standing Hft Royal Patron and were honoured to have the opportunity to share how our services are evolving in Wales." 💜 This week Her Royal Highness visited one of our day services run by Hft Flintshire ( 📸Photography credit: Maciej Wontorowski )
A green-fingered Hft support worker from Bradford is raising funds to transform the garden at the specialist autism service where she works. Kate has been providing frontline support at national learning disability charity Hft over the course of the pandemic, and was inspired to take on the project by the people she supports, who have been unable to attend their day opportunities service over the last year.
We're pleased to have published our fourth annual Sector Pulse Check report today, which provides a snapshot of the financial health of the learning disability social care sector and the impact of key challenges it has faced over the past year. The report shines a light on the impact of the pandemic on the social care workforce and calls on the government to publicly recognise the efforts that support workers have made over the past year.
A Luv2meetU staff member from County Durham who has been supporting people with learning disabilities to stay connected during the pandemic has taken on a lockdown challenge to raise funds for the friendship and dating service where she works.
Visit our blog to read about one of our newest Luv2meetU members, who joined our friendship and dating service after experiencing some struggles at the start of the pandemic. She's since made many new friends and been able to smile during difficult days - and has even found a boyfriend!
Love is in the air for a Yorkshire couple, who got engaged this year after being matched by Luv2meetU, a friendship and dating agency for adults with learning disabilities and autism. Read their full story on the blog...
