Local MP Visits Inspirational Learning Disability Projects

A local MP enjoyed visiting projects in his constituency run by an inspirational learning disabilities charity.

On Friday, Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami attended three of the projects run by Hft locally: Caffi Dai, Growing Places and Hwb Cyfle.

A thriving café in Deeside Enterprise Centre, Shotton, Caffi Dai is already familiar to Mark and his team as his office is in the same building. It was a great opportunity for Mark to chat with the employees at the café over lunch and to hear from Jordan Smith, Hft’s Head of Care and Support for the North, Victoria Hemmingway, Head of Public Affairs and Policy, and Erin O’Donnell, Supported Employment Advocate about Hft’s work in the constituency and further afield.

Erin is a graduate of Hft’s Project SEARCH programme which provides training, internships and finds employment for those with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Erin now works for Hft to highlight the benefits of providing supported employment to Project SEARCH participants to local businesses. She and her team provide ongoing support to employees and help employers in making reasonable adjustments for them.

Next Mark visited Growing Places, an oasis of calm in the middle of Rowleys Park, Shotton. Growing Places supports adults with mental health conditions to learn new skills including growing vegetables and flowers, ground maintenance, woodwork and joinery.

After that the MP attended Hwb Cyfle in Queensferry, a busy day centre for adults with a learning disability. Also visiting Hwb Cyfle were the current cohort of Project SEARCH interns, who had lots of questions for Mark about his role in the constituency and in Westminster.

“I’ve had a fantastic afternoon learning more about the excellent work Hft is doing in our community,” said Mark Tami MP.

“Those with learning disabilities and mental health conditions make up a large proportion of the population and Hft is helping to ensure that they can take an active and fulfilling role in society just as everyone deserves.

“The café employees and Project SEARCH interns were very impressive and had some excellent questions for me.”

Hft says that people with a learning disability make up 2 per cent of the population of North Wales – that’s 13,000 people. Nationally, 65 per cent have said that they would like to work with the right support, yet only 4.8 per cent are in paid employment.

Jordan Smith said: “With the right support, those with learning disabilities can make a really positive contribution to an organisation and I would urge local employers to contact us to discover more about working with us, or to check out our toolkit or video.”

Victoria Hemmingway added: “It was brilliant to meet with Mark on Friday and introduce all the work we do in his constituency to support adults with a learning disability. We are also grateful that he has become our latest ‘Voices for Our Future’ parliamentary champion and we’re looking forward to working with him moving forward to create positive and lasting.