Charity appeals for crafters to train adults with learning difficulties

A charity that works with adults with learning difficulties is appealing for crafters to volunteer to pass on their skills at their café and shop in Wrexham town centre.

Baseline Matters was set up by Denise Thomas, whose son has Aspergers, after she found that there was a lack of services for young people with mental health issues like autism once they had left school.

Denise, from Mold, said: “In fact it is not just young people who are not catered for but adults of all ages with a range of issues and we try to provide them with the skills they need to help with their independence and communication within the community.

“That can be through working in our café and shop in Henblas Street, dealing with the public or learning office skills behind the scenes.

“Now we also want to extend our services by having craft sessions which would be open to all, and already we are holding some classes but we would be keen to offer more if we can find people to pass on their skills.

“We’d like to set up classes and community groups in needlework and knitting, crochet, needle felting and making Christmas cards, crafts and wreaths.”

Baseline Matters, who also plan to open in Flintshire next year, have just taken on a second 40-foot unit from North Wales-based storage giant Lock Stock Self Storage at their Ruabon Road complex, one of two storage parks they have in the town.

The company, founded in 1999, is the UK’s largest containerised storage company with over 3,000 units providing over four million cubic feet of space at 22 parks across North and Mid Wales and the border counties.

Lock Stock North East Wales Area Site Manager Mike Trow said: “The storage units are perfect for charities like Baseline Matters because they offer huge amounts of space in secure and sealed units.

“Baseline Matters do such a great job providing services, teaching important life skills and offering social opportunities for a wide range of adults who might otherwise find themselves isolated, particularly in the current crisis.”

Among those working at the Henblas Street shop and café is Lindsay Roberts, 38, from Pen y Cae, who said: “I really enjoy working here. I get to meet lots of people and it’s good experience.”

Denise added: “I started Baseline Matters at the end of 2017 and we were in Ty Pawb but felt that there wasn’t the space there for what we wanted to do.

“We currently have five or six people with a range of learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues and we have a waiting list as we can’t cater for any more yet because of the pandemic.

“We always need more volunteers and we’re always glad to hear from anyone interested and if anyone has any ideas about other services we can offer we’re open to suggestions.”

Lock Stock’s existing sites stretch from Bangor along the North Wales coast at Llandudno and Rhyl, on the Dee at Flint and Chester and inland at Denbigh, Mold, Wrexham and Newtown in Powys, and at Oswestry and Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

The company also specialises in the off-site hire of containers which can be delivered by their specialist lorry and which range in size from 10-feet long up through 20-footers to 40-foot units, all eight feet high and eight feet wide, from 640 to 2,560 in cubic feet in volume.

For information about Lock Stock Self Storage including for off-site container hire contact them on 01745 817178 or go to https://lockstock.biz/

Captions: Pictured at Baseline Matters in Wrexham are Lindsay Roberts, founder Denise Thomas and Mike Trow of Lock Stock Self Storage.

(Picture by Mandy Jones Photography)