Celebrating its 40th year in 2023 and chosen by the House of Lords as one of 15 organisations in the UK providing best practice, Journey Enterprises is a local charity which provides social care Day Services for adults with a learning disability. We support conditions such as Down's, Williams, Prader-Willi, Smith Magenis and cerebral palsy, and also support Clients with autism. 170 adults are currently in Day Service aged from 18 - 82 years.
Adults come to Journey to develop their life and work skills, working with our Work Coaches and Specialist Learning Disability Support Workers in groups on and off site. The Charity runs a diverse programme of activities from each Day Centre and in the community meeting the interests and aspirations of Clients in Day Service. The Charity also runs a number of social enterprises which provide services to the local community and give Clients a supported platform to practice work and social skills. These include a Pay What you can Afford shop, community cafes, hosted friendship groups for older frail adults living close to our Day Centres, outreach meals services, arts & crafts market stalls, gardening and woodwork services.
The Charity has four Day Centres in the region and is commissioned by North Tyneside Council, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle and Northumberland Councils and the NHS. Clients are usually referred in to Day Service via Care Managers (Adult Social Care) or Learning Disability Specialist Nurses but families can also self-refer. Our Hubs (Day Centres) are in Blyth and Acomb, Northumberland, Kenton in Newcastle and Coundon, County Durham. Clients from North Tyneside can attend either our Blyth or Newcastle Hubs.
In addition to local authority and NHS funding the Charity runs a range of grant-aided programmes which provide enhanced opportunities and resourcing for Clients. Recent awards include £135K from the Santander Foundation for digital and financial inclusion, £166K from the Henry Smith Charity and £192K from TNL Community Foundation for our employability programming.
