Access Dorset support an average of 75 beneficiaries a week. Approximately 80% of our beneficiaries have either self-disclosed that they have a learning disability either on first meeting with them (or in proceeding conversations or sessions) or we have been informed by referrers that they have a learning disability, for example the NHS Learning Disability Team.
Each new beneficiary meets with the Activity and Volunteer Co-ordinator for an informal discussion, sometimes using a self-assessment tool based on the Outcomes Star, where individuals are asked to give ratings relating to categories such as: Motivation, Experience, Managing Money, Health and Wellbeing, Social Skills, Independent Living Skills and Readiness for Work. The individual’s needs are identified, and an Action Plan agreed.
Our main outcomes are reduced anxiety and social isolation, increased self-esteem and confidence and skills development.
We are also currently providing an Active Communities project funded by People’s Health Trust where the disabled people accessing the project all live within a five mile radius of The Bridge. They are all disadvantaged and vulnerable adults with shared characteristics of lacking social and economic opportunities because of their impairments. 80% of participants in the project live in an area of multiple social deprivation.
