We are pleased to announce the release of our latest annual report.
In it, you can find out about the work we have been doing, the activities people we support have taken part in, stories about the people we support, the impact we have had, and our financial statements.
An overview of our work:
Lynne Peacock, chair of the Board at LDN London, wrote the introduction to the report – read it below:
As I reflect on our 59th financial year, it feels exciting to be planning celebrations for our 60th anniversary in October. We began at a kitchen table, a handful of families working to improve local services for their children with learning disabilities, and we’ve grown to an organisation serving adults and children through 52 services across a number of London boroughs.
Whilst we celebrate the tireless dedication and resilience of our staff who kept our services open throughout the pandemic, we are acutely aware of the ongoing impact Covid-19 has within our communities. For so many, the consequences have included isolation and loneliness. Our focus, as we move into this next financial year, is to tackle social isolation through our Community Hubs.
Our first Hub will pilot in Westminster, offering a range of services to support adults with learning disabilities to fully and equitably access their local communities. Our Community Hubs are entirely voluntary funded and the core focus of our fundraising this coming year will be on raising money to support some of the capital’s most vulnerable people.
One of our challenges as a charity is the perception that adults with learning disabilities are fully supported by government funding. This is, in fact, far from the case. Since 2011, public funding cuts have meant that only people with learning disabilities whose needs are classed as severe and complex receive statutory funding for their daily living needs. We tender for these contracts through which we deliver our registered care and supported housing services.
We passionately believe in equality for anyone with a learning disability and target our resources to provide the best service we can in the boroughs in which we currently operate. We are ambitious for them, we strive to ensure that they are not only safe, but live good and healthy lives as equal members of the capital’s community. This work is unfunded and there is no statutory provision for these programmes, which is why we fundraise to secure voluntary income that enables us to offer our community and family programmes, our new Community Hub initiative and to continue to develop, listen and respond.
We are grateful to those who have supported us to achieve our ambitions in all of our work this year including:
Your donations and goods in kind have helped us make a huge difference in the lives of the people we support.
I am proud to chair an organisation that has spent 60 years championing the marginalised, fighting for opportunity and celebrating the lives of Londoners with learning disabilities. Happy birthday, here’s to the next 60!
Lynne Peacock
