Hamelin

Social care continues to be misunderstood and overlooked by yet another government. The £600m additional funding to social care is dwarfed by the £22.6bn extra allocated to the NHS.   And whilst this extra funding, alongside exemption from NI contribution increases will be welcomed by our public sector partners, many of the organisations delivering health and social care in the community have been entirely forgotten about.    Whilst we appreciate the need for a bold budget that invests in the country’s infrastructure, the disparity in investment between NHS and social care, and the way in which NI hike relief has been applied, risks causing extra pain to charities such as Hamelin, who deliver so much of this social care support on the frontline. This will affect what can be done by the voluntary sector to support our communities, and subsequently, put more pressure on the NHS and local authorities.   Paying our brilliant and compassionate staff is by far the largest proportion of our charity’s running costs. The large increase in the National Living Wage (6.7%) is welcome but will cost our charity over £90,000 to comply with. The additional burden of the increase to the NI contributions and reduction in the threshold will cost Hamelin £92,650. A total of £182,650 unbudgeted costs for 2025/26 alone, which could be better spent on meeting the increasing unmet need in our communities.   We believe the £600m uplift in social care funding will not even cover these staff costs in full, let alone make a dent in the chronic underfunding that voluntary sector organisations have suffered for years.   Hamelin is and will be resilient. We are adamant that we will survive and continue to support disabled people across Essex. It’s hugely disappointing that this £182,650 could otherwise be used to fund vital services such as respite, befriending, mentoring and employment support for more autistic adults and people with learning disabilities.   We call on the government to extend the NI relief to social care providers, such as charities, who collectively employ 1.84million people (Skills for Care 2024) - a larger combined workforce than the NHS - so that we can continue to deliver care and support to the most vulnerable people in our communities. #Budget2024 #Charity #SocialCare Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting MP Richard Holden Mark Francois Bayo Alaba MP Tom Abell Nick Presmeg Caroline Taylor Daisy Cooper BBC News ITV News Sky News

Just one week to go before the launch – have you got your balloons yet? Hamelin is taking part in Eco-Racing’s virtual Halloween balloon race – as well as raising vital funds for the charity, you’ll be in with the chance of winning some fang-tastic prizes: 🎃£100 for the overall race winner 🎃Amazon Alexa / Echo Dot 4th Generation for second place. There are also prizes for the top 5 Hamelin balloons: 🎃1st - £50 Tesco voucher 🎃2nd - £25 M&S voucher 🎃Chocolates for 3rd, 4th and 5th! The race launches from Dracula’s castle in Romania on 31st October at noon, UK time. Balloons are just £3 each – get yours at https://lnkd.in/ehaTu2sp Full details at https://lnkd.in/er2dZJP7 #Halloween #HalloweenFun #VirtualBalloonRace #SpookySeason

The House of Lords Public Services Committee report 'Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people' published yesterday is an interesting, yet sobering read. It shows the disability employment gap has stubbornly remained at around 30% for the last decade. While 80% of non-disabled people are in employment, only 50% of working-age disabled individuals can say the same. This stark disparity is unacceptable. Young disabled people face significant barriers in transitioning from education to work, from lack of tailored support to employer reluctance. We call on the government to prioritise inclusive employment strategies and invest in early intervention programmes that empower disabled individuals to thrive in the workplace. It's time for urgent action to ensure that every young person, regardless of their disability, has the opportunity to contribute to the workforce. Let’s close this gap! At Hamelin we are working hard to address this issue. We've launched a new free-of-charge employment programme for autistic adults and people with learning disabilities. The Ability Works project offers workshops, one-to-one mentoring, CV writing, interview preparation, and work experience opportunities to help people secure paid employment of their choice. More information at https://lnkd.in/eGQm5mRZ But much more needs to be done. We'll be watching the upcoming budget closely to see what firm commitments this government makes to support disabled people. Link to report: https://lnkd.in/gMPs5cbb #disability #employment #disabilityemployment

A huge thank you to volunteers from Savills Chelmsford who spent the day at our Sutton Farm site in Rochford. We were incredibly fortunate to enjoy unseasonably glorious weather! The team helped to refurbish a cabin for our Gowlands guests to use by giving it a new coat of paint. It looks really smart now and we can’t wait to add the finishing touches inside! The team also helped to dismantle two other sheds which had reached the end of their useable life. Thank you to everyone from Savills who attended for your enthusiasm and interest in Hamelin and the people we support. We look forward to working with you again soon.

Looking for some healthy workplace competition? Want to find out who’s top dog? Hamelin is taking part in EcoRacing’s Halloween virtual balloon race, so why not get your colleagues involved and see whose skill and intuition will soar them to victory. Alongside boasting rights in your in-house contest, there’s also £100 up for grabs for the overall race winner plus other spook-tacular prizes. Balloons are just £3 each and you’ll be helping to raise funds for Hamelin too! 🎁Prizes include: 🎈£100 for the overall race winner 🎈Amazon Alexa / Echo Dot 4th Generation for the overall runner-up 🎈£50 Tesco voucher for winning Hamelin balloon 🎈£25 M&S voucher for second place Hamelin balloon 🎈Chocolates for third, fourth and fifth placed Hamelin balloons 🦇The race launches from Dracula’s castle in Romania at noon on 31st October. You can customize and decorate your balloon and track its progress throughout the 7 day race. The balloons which travel the furthest from the starting point will win the prizes listed above. ➡️Get your balloons here https://lnkd.in/ehaTu2sp and scroll down to ‘buy balloons for you’. 👍Good luck!👍 #charity #essex #fundraising #halloween #makeadifference

Some of the people we support, staff and volunteers took part in The Fun Walk Trust Billericay Fun Walk today! They completed 2 laps of Lake Meadows, enjoying the beautiful scenery and spotting the wildlife in the park. We were very lucky to find a break in the weather and even enjoyed a spot of sunshine! Well done to everyone who took part, and thank you to everyone who sponsored participants. All money raised will go towards funding activities the people we support want to do. We’ll let you know soon how much was raised once sponsor forms are returned. We've also set up a Just Giving page if you wish to make a donation: https://lnkd.in/eee-w2yh Thank you! Also a huge thank you to BannerBuzz for providing a free banner. Bannerbuzz is happy to offer a free PVC banner to registered charities, schools, colleges, universities and non-profit organizations. Find out more on their website here https://lnkd.in/emWVjB-H

Hamelin has donated fresh produce from our Roots & Shoots horticultural training site in Rochford to The One Love Project in Southend. We’re delighted to support such a fantastic charity that works hard to support local homeless and vulnerable people. We’re also exploring how both charities can work together for the greater good including volunteering opportunities for people we support on our employment training programme, Ability Works. The One Love Project SAVS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System

Art exhibition update: Thank you to everyone who came to Friday's art exhibition at The Billericay Theatre. We are delighted to announce that the event raised an incredible £1,862.91. Thank you to everyone for your generosity. This money will make a huge difference to the lives of the autistic people and adults with learning disabilities we support.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came along to Billericay Theatre last night for Hamelin's inaugural Inspired art exhibition. It was great to see so many people come along and admire the artwork created bu the people we support. We are super proud of their achievement. Thank you to: Kirstie Taylor who volunteers her time running sessions with the people we support, without whom, the exhibition would not be possible. Our people for creating such magmgnificent pieces of work and for choosing to hold the exhibition and sale to raise funds for Hamelin. Everyone who bought some artwork, we're sure they will look amazing in their new home. Local artists who kindly donated items of work for our raffle. Well done to the winners! The Billericay Theatre for the use of their fantastic facility. Watch this space, we'll let you all know early next week how much was raised. Every penny will make a huge difference to the lives of the autistic adults and people with learning disabilities we support. Thank you once again.

Hamelin recently held a celebration event to commemorate our wonderful volunteers who make a meaningful difference to the lives of the people we support. The event also included the 2024 Volunteer Awards ceremony which recognised a number of our volunteers who have gone above and beyond as nominated by the people we support. Thank you to Room to Reward - Registered Charity for gifting hotel breaks for our winners! Each day this week we will showcase one of our amazing winners. Today, we congratulate Julie who is a volunteer on our befriending programme.  👏👏👏 Read her nomination here: https://lnkd.in/ePtWK8_t