Sense annual review 2007

Patron: Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal

Registered Charity Number: 289868Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England and Wales. Company Number: 1825301

Editor: Colin AndersonDesign: Spencer du BoisPhotography: Mike Pinches and Jo Crowther

Sense 11-13 Clifton TerraceFinsbury ParkN4 3SR

Tel: 0845 127 0060

Fax: 0845 127 0061

Minicom: 0845 127 0062

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

2007annual reviewconnect

mailto:[email protected]


Deafblind people are standingup for themselves – takingcharge of their lives and havingtheir say.

Sense providesindividual services,information andrepresentation fordeafblind people theirfamilies and carers.

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If you were borndeafblind how wouldyou learn about theworld about you?

Deafblind people face huge challengeswith communication, getting aroundsafely and living independently.

Breaking down isolation –by reaching out todeafblind people and their families – is one ofthe most important thingsSense does.

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Sense is determined that every deafblindperson’s life should be enriched byopportunities and choice.

sense annual report 2007 sense annual report 2007

At the end of this review you will find a formidable listof corporate donors and trusts who have supported ourwork over the past year. We also know there have beenvery many individual donors. We hope they will all beproud of what they have made possible – enablingdeafblind people, amongst the most disadvantagedand marginalised people in our society – to connect with their families, other deafblind people and their communities.

Those of us who work in Sense are proud of thedifference we have made, and are committed tokeeping deafblind people, and their families, at thecentre of everything we do.

This review shows the wide range of activities we areinvolved in. This year there has been new work onconnecting older people with the support they areentitled to; pioneering work on bringing deafblindpeople together to share advocacy skills; anddevelopments in our information services to keeppeople in touch with developments and best practice.Our direct services have continued with their strongemphasis on quality and developing innovative dayservices – truly connecting deafblind people with theirlocal communities.

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making the connectiona sense of belonging

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Living with little or no sight and hearing brings hugepractical difficulties. How does a child who can’t see or hear learn to walk? How does a young person make friends and go to college? How would you live independently or get a job? These are daunting challenges.

Perhaps more daunting though, is the isolation from other people that deafblindness can bring. Many deafblind children are born in very difficultcircumstances and may recoil from contact with others– even their parents. Adults may find it very difficult tojoin in the lives of their communities, and too manyolder people lead lonely, straightened lives. The familieswho care for deafblind people often say they feelisolated too – struggling on with little help or support.

This is why a key part of Sense’s mission has alwaysbeen to help deafblind people to truly connect with theworld around them. In my time as Sense’s Patron I havebeen privileged to meet many deafblind people, andtheir families, and I am always heartened by whatindividuals can achieve – given the right support.

Sense breaks down isolation in many different ways: byhelping a young child to communicate; by supportingfamilies; by helping older people to keep theirindependence and dignity, by empowering deafblindpeople to stand up and be counted. This sense ofcommunity, of belonging, is at the heart of what Senseis about – and is why I am proud to be its Patron.

Thank you again for your support.

Sense’s Patron, HRH The Princess Royal

The balance between these is determined by a strongstrategy that defines our priorities. This ensures that our campaigning, information and direct services aresupporting each other so the most efficient use is madeof our resources. This also ensures we make the greatestimpact possible as effectively as possible.

We hope you will enjoy reading about the differenceSense has made and recognise your special contributionto this. On behalf of all the beneficiaries, we should liketo thank you for your contribution to these successes.

Dr Tony Best Dr Katia HerbstChief Executive Chairman


Children who are born with vision and hearingimpairments – and often other disabilities to cope with – face a tough start to life. Learning about theworld around them, finding a way to communicate, andlearning to trust people can be immensely difficult. It isvital that these children, and their families, get help asearly as possible.

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Sense’s dedicated staff back deafblind children andtheir families all the way. They offer skilled earlyassessments, and advise parents about the best ways tohelp their child to learn and develop. They listen, theycounsel, they support. They liaise with other services –such as education providers – and when necessary theywill battle on a family’s behalf.

Our staff also help families to cope with, what manydescribe as, the stress and isolation of bringing up achild with special needs. Saturday clubs, holidays, familyweekends, branch meetings – all these things and more bring families together to share experiences, passon information and gain strength from each other.

In 2006/2007:

• Deafblind children and their families received help from Sense on over 11,000 occasions last year. 37 deafblind children received one-to-one support from specially trained intervenors who enable each child to participate and interact with their environment.

• Sense ran numerous activities for deafblind children including two after-school clubs and two summer schemes in Northern Ireland.

• Our membership scheme has 1,521 members, and we support 14 branches, Family Network events and a range of other groups across the country.

• Young Sense – a project to engage and empower young deafblind people – held various events, including meeting the Head of Disability Policy and Strategy from the Department of Health.

Thanks to you

It is thanks to the generous support of trusts,companies and individual donors that Sense canoffer specialist services for deafblind children andtheir families.

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children and families

“He was able to say ‘Dad’ for the first time”

action connectThe first months of Gethin’s life were traumatic.Although he had been registered blind at birth he justwasn’t developing. “Gethin didn’t seem to be in touchwith the world around him,” says Jane his mum, “wewere terribly worried.”

When he was also diagnosed as profoundly deaf hisparents were deeply shocked and turned to Sense indesperation. A Sense outreach worker, Susan, visitedstraightaway and since then Gethin has made gradual –but amazing – progress.

By lying Gethin on a special wooden board and tappingit to make it vibrate, Susan helped him become awareof vibration and sound and he began to move around.Susan also taught him and his parents hands-onsigning, using shapes on each others’ hands tocommunicate words. Within ten months Gethin was ableto tell his mum and dad he was ‘hungry’, ‘tired’ and‘thirsty’. And more importantly he was able to say ‘Dad’.

He’s now six – a sunny, determined boy who is learningnew things all the time. He loves to get around with hiswalking frame, goes to school supported by a Senseintervenor and really throws himself into the swimmingand music sessions.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” says Jane. “We were in very dark place but now the future holds so much for Gethin.”


Sense believes strongly that each individual should beable to choose the help and support that is right forthem. Our specialist services enable deafblind people to live as independently as possible, offering a range of housing, educational, employment and leisureopportunities that are built around each individual’sneeds and preferences.

Sense’s specialist staff work closely in partnership witheach individual, often getting to know them extremelywell. Over a period of time they learn about the thingsthat matter to the individual – how they prefer to

communicate, how they like to spend their time, wherethey like to go on holiday and so on. Some deafblindpeople will be able to express these wishes very clearly,and have strong ideas about what they would like todo. With other deafblind people, staff will need towatch sensitively and patiently to understand how theindividual prefers to live.

Wherever possible, Sense aims to meet the needs andexpectations of the deafblind people we serve – and to provide high-quality, tailored services and support tomake their dreams a reality.

In 2006/2007:

• We enabled 307 deafblind people to live as theychoose in Sense-run houses – where each individual receives the level of support that is right for them.

• 286 deafblind individuals were able to learn new skills,socialise and grow in confidence in our day services.

• The Commission for Social Care Inspection rated 80%of Sense’s residential services as good or excellent with none rated as poor. No other care provider achieved this.

• Sense East was named one of the five best ‘Specialist Independent Colleges’ by the Adult Learning Inspectorate for the educational servicesit provides for deafblind people.

Thanks to you

Our thanks to the trusts, companies and individualswho have supported the work of our day services.

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deafblind adults

action connect

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“She would push away anyonewho tried to touch her”

When Helen first came to the Cambridge Resource Centreshe would push away anyone who tried to touch her. She has little sight or hearing so contact with unfamiliarpeople can be very frightening. Gradually though – and with the patience and care of the staff–she haslearned to use her sense of touch to her advantage.

Today when she arrives she says hello by holding out herhand for staff to touch, and then giving them a hug –something she would never have done a few months ago.Then she greets her tutor Tim by touching her nosewith his.

Tim brings out one of Helen’s favourite objects – a sieve.He puts this close to his face and then leans in towardsher. As his face comes into her field of vision a smilespreads across her face and her eyes open wide in delight.

For about 20 minutes, Helen revels in the attention –but this is more than just a game. This is intensiveinteraction and Tim is delighted that Helen can focus forsuch a length of time. For a person who is normally so introspective, this is huge progress.


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Those with Usher type 2 will have been born hard ofhearing, often attending a mainstream school, before they too learn that they are losing their sight due to RP.

This can be a terrible blow, and not surprisingly manypeople feel scared, isolated and very bleak about thefuture. Sense plays a vital role in providing informationand support to these individuals and their families – and helping them to start to think positively about thefuture again. We also bring people with acquireddeafblindness together so that they can offer mutualsupport, share useful information and have fun! In 2006/2007:

• Our Outreach Teams offered vital support and information to 348 people with acquired deafblindness.

• Hearing and Sight Impaired UK – a self-help group supported by Sense – enjoyed three lively social events and met regularly to plan their activities.

• The National Collaborative Usher Study, a partnership with Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institutes of Child Health and Ophthalmolgy, was the first major study of this condition in the UK – and has enabled us to provide better information to people affected by Usher.

• Express Yourself! – our first creative writing competition – recognised the achievements of deafblind people, carers and professionals, with an award ceremony at the Charles Dickens Museum hosted by Miriam Margolyes.

Thanks to you

Sense is able to provide skilled outreach workersthanks to the generous support of various trusts,companies and many individual donors.

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becoming deafblind “For the first time I had somebody to talk to who truly understood my situation”

actionconnect

Some people are born deafblind. Many others do havesight and/or hearing but then start to lose this later inlife. This is called acquired deafblindness.

People with Usher type 1, for example, will have grownup as Deaf–learning to communicate with British Sign Language and often feeling very much part of theDeaf community. Then during their teens – which is challenging at the best of times – they receive thedevastating news that they are also losing their sightdue to retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Helen smiles as she watches her daughters giggling,enjoying themselves on the swings in the playground.Like lots of families, a trip to the local park is a regularouting for Helen, her husband and two daughters.Although for Helen, who has little vision and hearing,even this simple trip brings extra challenges – like howto make sure the girls play safely.

Helen worries that she is not a proper “mum”. She feelsfrustrated that she can’t run around with her girls asthey go up and down on the slides or hear their screamsof delight as they swing ever higher. Her husband oftenacts as an extra pair of ears and eyes looking out for thegirls, while at the same time supporting Helen.

Not long ago, Helen was engulfed by feelings ofisolation and a lack of confidence as a parent. Lynda, aSense Outreach Worker came at just the right time andgave her the emotional support she desperately needed.“Lynda helped me to get things right in my own mind,”she says. “For the first time I had somebody to talk towho truly understood my situation.” Now she takesgreat pleasure in seeing her daughters growing up andenjoying life to the full. And she can face the future withrenewed hope.


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sense annual report 2007

As people are living longer, many more elderly peopleare having to cope with combined sight and hearingdifficulties. Having a dual-sensory impairment makes itmuch harder for older people to live independently andto enjoy the interests and social activities that they usedto. Many feel isolated and unwanted.

Sense provides specialist support and information toenable older people to continue to live as independentlyas possible. Our outreach workers are able to carry outspecialist assessments of an older person’s needs, andto organise appropriate services and support for them.

Communicator-guides for example, providecommunication support, offer practical help at home,and enable a deafblind person to get out and about –perhaps to go shopping or to visit the doctors.

Sense also campaigns for older people to receive thesupport they are entitled to. Our Fill in the Gapscampaign has been raising awareness amongst carers –both family carers and professionals – and offeringguidance on how best to support older people.

In 2006/2007:

• 489 older people were given individual support by our outreach workers so that they can keep their independence.

• 119 deafblind individuals received 34,179 hours of communicator-guide support to enable them to continue living in the community.

• Sense provided 2,321 hours of training to 4,209 individuals from outside agencies, raising awareness of the needs of deafbind people.

• In addition to 27 stimulating holidays for deafblind people, Sense organised two holidays for 12 older deafblind people.

• 143 individuals volunteered for a Sense holiday – generously giving over 16,000 hours of their time.

Thanks to you

Sense offered 29 friendly, accessible andstimulating holidays to 148 deafblind people lastyear thanks to the generosity of our supporters and volunteers.

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supporting older people

“I put my finger on it andfeel it – the hedges, a pathmade from gravel”

action connectMarcelle uses her hands expressively as she talks. She islively, curious and interested in many things – full of“joie de vivre” as she puts it.

This quality has been vital in recent years, now that sheis blind and has just a little hearing in her left ear. Shelost her husband four years ago and now lives with herdaughter’s family. Like many people of her generationshe doesn’t like to make a fuss though: “I wish I couldsee, I wish I could hear, but I can’t so I must accept it.”

Making a new start was tough, but with the love of herfamily – and the support of her Sense outreach worker –Marcelle has made a new life. She now uses a digitalhearing aid to follow conversation and listen to theradio, has made new friends at a local social club andtried new hobbies like pottery and making tactilepaintings. “I love it very much,” she says. ”I put myfinger on it and feel it – the hedges, a path madefrom gravel.”

She has also been on Sense holidays in Teignmouth andLittlehampton which gave her daughter the chance of abreak. The holidaymakers – who were all older peoplewith little sight and hearing – were supported by thestaff and volunteers to choose the activities that suitedthem. “I enjoy the holidays so much” says Marcelle, “allthe people are very kind.”



Clear speech Speaking clearly is one of the most effective andcommon ways of communicating with people who have reduced hearing.

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Deafblind people use all sorts of ways to communicatedepending on their levels of sight and hearing. Manypeople will use a combination of methods dependingon what suits them best.

FingerspellingSome deafblind people use fingerspelling (also knownas the deafblind manual alphabet) to communicate.Each letter of the alphabet is indicated by a differentposition on the deafblind person’s hand so that wordscan be spelled out.

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how do deafblind people communicate?

Objects of referenceSome individuals, who have very profound difficulties,may learn to use objects to communicate. For example,someone may use a mug to indicate that they wouldlike a drink. Or a wooden spoon tied to a door mayindicate that a room is the kitchen.

British Sign LanguageMany people who are Deaf communicate by BritishSign Language (BSL) which uses hand signs, facialexpressions and mouth shapes as a visual form ofcommunication. If someone has reduced vision it isimportant to sign within their remaining field of vision – this is called visual frame signing.

If a deafblind person has very little vision they can followBSL signs by placing their hands over those of the signerand feeling the signs formed. People with Usher syndromemay use hands-on signing as their sight reduces.

Some deafblind people may use a simplified version ofBSL called Makaton.


BlockWith block the individual letters are traced onto thepalm of the deafblind person's hand to make words.

One of the reasons that the needs of deafblindpeople are so often overlooked is that this disability isso little-known. Sense strives to raise awareness of thechallenges faced by deafblind people and providesspecialist information to a wide range of enquirers.

• In 2006/07 over 900 stories appeared in local and national press, TV, radio and online media, resulting in greater awareness of deafblindness and Sense.

• There were over 300,000 visits to our website.

• Sense’s Information Team received over 1,600enquiries, an increase of 10% from the previous year with over 90% of callers rating the service as good or very good.

• Sense’s specialist library on deafblindness enjoyedan increase in loans last year of well over 400%.

Thanks to you

Our Information and Library Service has been set up thanks to support from the Flora LondonMarathon.

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• Following Sense campaigning and awareness raising, the number of deafblind people known to local authorities has risen by 12%, and the number of people receiving a communicator-guide service has increased by 4%.

• As part of Sense’s Fill in the Gaps campaign – which is raising awareness of the needs of older deafblind people – 5000 sets of guidelines were disseminated to social service departments, and 140 local authority workers attended training seminars – offering very positive feedback.

• After campaigning by Sense and partner organisationsin Europe, the European Air Travel Directive was amended to make it relevant to the needs of deafblind travellers.

Thanks to you

The See Me Hear Me Project was supported by the Big Lottery, Rank, and Persula Foundations.

Many of the barriers that deafblind people – andtheir families – face are not caused by the disabilityitself but by the way our society is organised. Manypublic services are inaccessible for example, andinformation is often not provided in a format that adeafblind person can read. Families often find itexhausting to battle for the help they are entitled to.

Sense campaigns strongly for a better deal fordeafblind people and their families. We push for therights, services and choices that individuals need tolive ordinary, independent and fulfilled lives. Andincreasingly we are empowering deafblind people tocampaign on their own behalf – supporting them to lobby their MPs, local authorities and serviceproviders to take account of their needs.

• As a result of our See Me Hear Me project, 52 deafblind people received training to undertake campaigns, or support Sense campaigns, on their own behalf. 26 of these individuals have now taken action and this has resulted in specific changes.

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campaigning for a better dealaction

connecting with you

action

Assistive technology – everything from mobile phonewith large print displays to vibrating alarm clocks – has the potential to be enormously useful to deafblindpeople. Sense’s Technology Advisory Project providesinformation, advice and training to deafblind peopleabout all the latest technology.

harnessing technology

action• Technology information on our website received

over 400 visitors each month, and we published two editions of a catalogue of products.

• We held two forums where deafblind people shared information about how they use technology, as well as a training day for professionals in the south east.



Children’s stories

Sense’s first TV advert, which was broadcast last year,told the story of five-year-old Elliot who is deafblind.Over 1,000 people responded by committing to give amonthly donation to Sense. Another deafblind child –Bethany – appeared in our Christmas appeal and wewere overwhelmed by the response from our supporterswho raised £145,000.

Generous gifts

Amongst many generous legacy gifts this year, adonation from Dr Ann Evans has enabled us to extendour services to reach more families with deafblindchildren in North Wales.

Taking the High Street!

This year has been one of change, growth and successfor Sense Trading. Charity retailing has experiencedsome challenging times in the last few years, but with acareful restructuring, new product initiatives and increasedstock gathering, Sense shops recorded their highest grosssales to date, with profits rising by nearly 60% over the previous year. Niche business also grew rapidly –furniture, books and music and online sales increasingdramatically over the previous year’s performance.

An exciting and, at times, very challenging year – but Sense shops are now well placed to build on their strong growth (6).

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Once again, our fantastic supporters have been pullingtogether, digging deep and making a real difference tothe lives of deafblind people. This year you have helpedus to raise a magnificent £6.0m – which not only allowsus to run our current services, but also to develop much– needed new services in the future.

Going the extra mile

Sense’s supporters having been pushing themselves tothe limit to raise vital funds Our runners turned out inforce again for the Flora London Marathon with 388runners hanging on in there to raise a massive £640,000(1). And in the New York Marathon 68 dedicated runnersraised £185,000 for our work.

We also held an extremely successful ice skating eventwhere city companies – and Tamara Beckwith andStefan Booth from ITV1’s Dancing on Ice - sliced acrossthe ice to raise funds (2).

The big Orange

Since Orange became our biggest corporate supporter in2005 they have really pulled out the stops. Orange staffhave taken on everything from The Three PeaksChallenge to the Togetherness promotion and raised£400,000 in the process (3).

Listening banks

We’d also like to say a big thank you to the many othercompanies who have got behind us. The Lloyds TSBFoundation has pledged £53,000 over three years tosupport our national ‘Fill in the Gaps’ campaign which israising the awareness of needs of older deafblind people(4). And staff from the Royal Bank of Scotland havehelped us in numerous ways – including recruitingrunners for the Flora London Marathon and helping to link up with businesses in the Birmingham area.

A special thanks to:

• The City Bridge Trust who pledged £105,000 over three years to fund a new service providing support for deafblind people living in London.

• The Department of Health who are funding three important projects: an advisory service for deafblind people who wish to secure direct payments so that they can purchase the services they require; a project to establish deafblind forums for older people living in the east of England; and our Technology Advisory Project.

• The Birkdale Trust for Hearing Impaired Ltd, who have pledged two year support for an advisory teacher and, The Hadley Trust who provided funding for essential health and safety work for the hydrotherapy pool at the Anne Wall Centre.

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putting on the pounds individuals make a difference1

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Shops 7.6

Fundraising and legacies 6.0

Fees and allowances 35.7

Other 0.9

Statutory Grants 0.6

Total 50.8

A special thanks to our corporate and trust supporters

The 29th May 1961 Charitable TrustThe Albert Hunt TrustThe Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable TrustAudrey Earle Charitable TrustAustin & Hope Pilkington TrustAwarenessThe Ballinger Charitable TrustThe Baron Davenport's CharityBBC Children in NeedThe Beatrice Laing TrustBirkdale Trust for Hearing Impaired LtdBirmingham Chamber of Commerce and IndustryThe Blair FoundationBUPAThe Carmen Butler Charteris Charitable TrustThe Carpenters Company Charitable TrustThe Charity of Jamieson-BystockCHK Charities LtdThe City Bridge Trust Clifford ChanceConnie & Albert Taylor Charitable TrustThe Constance Green FoundationThe Constance Travis Charitable TrustConygar Investment Company plcDame Violet Wills Will TrustDans Le Noir LtdThe David Thomas Charitable TrustThe Dixie Rose Findlay Charitable TrustDonald Forrester TrustThe Dorothy Hay-Bolton Charitable TrustThe Douglas Turner TrustD'Oyly Carte Charitable TrustThe Dumbreck CharityThe Elizabeth & Prince Zaiger TrustThe Elmgrant TrustEmerton-Christie Charitable TrustEnviroStream International Ltd Ernst & Young LLPThe Essex Youth TrustThe Eveson Charitable TrustThe Fifty FundThe Four Acre TrustGarfield Weston FoundationGEThe Geoff and Fiona Squire FoundationThe George & Esmee Pollitzer SettlementThe George John and Sheilah Livanos Charitable TrustThe Hadley TrustHardy Underwriting Group PlcThe Helen Jean Cope TrustHomelands Charitable TrustThe Ian Fleming Charitable TrustICAP LtdJack Patston Charitable Trust

The Janet Nash Charitable SettlementThe Jean Coubrough Charitable TrustJo Malone LtdJohn Bunyan LodgeJohn James Bristol FoundationThe John Pinto FoundationJohnson Matthey PlcJoseph Strong Frazer TrustKobler TrustKPMGLennox & Wyfold FoundationThe Lillie C Johnson Charitable TrustLloydsTSB Foundation for England & Wales - National BoardMagictaxi.co.uk Major Simon Whitbread Charitable TrustThe Manchester Guardian Society Charitable TrustMerchant Taylors' CompanyMichael Cornish Charitable TrustThe Millichope FoundationThe Miss Doreen Stanford TrustThe Miss J K Stirrup CharityThe Misses Barrie Charitable TrustThe Misses C M Pearson & MV Williams Charitable TrustNorton Rose Charitable FoundationOrange UKOrmsby Charitable TrustThe P F Charitable TrustThe Peacock Charitable TrustPenrose Financial LtdPersula FoundationThe Peter Storrs TrustThe Pettifer GroupThe Platinum TrustPolizzi Charitable TrustPrincess Anne's CharitiesRank FoundationThe Rayne FoundationRococo Chocolates The Royal Bank of Scotland GroupS.F.I.A. Educational TrustScrivens LtdSir John Priestman Charity TrustThe Sobell FoundationSwiss ReSylvia Waddilove Foundation UKThe Tanner TrustThomas J Horne Memorial Trust The V H Dixon Charitable TrustThe Valentine Charitable TrustVision CharityThe Wesleyan Charitable TrustThe Wilfred and Elsie Elkes Charity FundWragge & Co LLP

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A huge thank you to all our staff, volunteers andsupporters for helping to make 2006/7 a record yearfor income generation. The total received by Senseexceeded £50m – overtaking the previous year by nearly 6%.

Income from fundraising and legacies increased by£17k to reach £6.0m and our shops generated £7.6m – up 9.7% from £7.0 last year.

This meant that we were able to increase our servicesfor deafblind people as well as grow our campaigning,public awareness and staff development programmes.

We spent £37.1m providing services for children,adults and older people – up from £35.8m last year.Our campaigning, public awareness and staffdevelopment grew by 12% to £1.5m

This information represents a brief summary of thefinancial performance for Sense for the year ended 31March 2007. The summary may not contain sufficientinformation to allow for a full understanding of thefinancial affairs of the organisation. For furtherinformation the consolidated Report and Accountsshould be consulted. They are available free on requestfrom Sense, 11-13 Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park,London, N4 3SR. Telephone 0845 127 0060 (voice),0845 127 0062 (text).

The Consolidated Report and Accounts have beenindependently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPand are unqualified. They were approved by thetrustees on 17 July 2007.

Adults 34.3

Shops costs 6.6

Reserved for future work 3.0

Fundraising costs 2.6

Children 1.8Campaigning, publicity, quality improvements 1.5

Older people 1.0

Total 50.8

Key people

Patron:Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

Chairman:Dr Katia Herbst (until October 2007)John Crabtree (from November 2007)

Vice Chairman:Dave Pearson

Chief Executive: Dr Tony Best

Director, Community Support and Information:Malcolm Matthews

Director of Children and Adult Services:Ges Roulstone

Regional Directors:North: Bob SnowSouth East: Alan AvisWest: Peter CheerEast: Kate Lockett

Director of Finance: Derek Pernak

Director of Fundraising: Jane Arnell

Director of Trading: Adrian Barker

Director of Human Resources: Pete McCollin

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sound finance

Expenditure £m

Income £m


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Housing and support for deafblind people

A range of accommodation choices in thecommunity offer individuals the support they needto live as independently as possible and in the waythat they choose.

Day services

These individually-tailored programmes which givedeafblind people the chance to develop their skillsand abilities.

Supported employment projects

We offer skills training and work experience, providinga springboard for job opportunities in the community.

Communicator-guide schemes

Practical help such as shopping, dealing with mailand an escort for trips outside the home enabledeafblind people to continue to live independently intheir own homes.

Outreach services

Specialist workers visit deafblind people and theirfamilies across the country to help them to find theinformation, services and support they need. Theyalso have an advocacy role.

Branches

This network brings parents and deafblind peopletogether to learn from and support each other, tocampaign for local services and have fun.

Holidays – and where we went this year

Sense holidays give deafblind people the chance toget away from it all, taste new experiences and havea lot of fun! They also give families a much-neededbreak from the often-demanding work of supportinga deafblind person.

Family Education and Advisory Service

We work with deafblind children and their families to offer vital early assessments and individualprogrammes to help children develop their full potential.

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Other services provided across the UK

Support for people with acquired deafblindness

The Acquired Deafblindness Team, and outreachworkers across the UK, provide vital support,information and advice to people with acquireddeafblindness and their families.

Training and consultancy

Our experienced professionals offer specialist assessments,advice and training on all aspects of working withdeafblind and multi-sensory impaired people.

Membership

Membership offers people a sense of belonging, thechance to be more actively involved in our work, plus the opportunity to receive our magazine, Talking Sense.

Sense is committed to offering high quality, flexibleservices, using skilled staff and a dedicated network ofvolunteers – tailoring the support we offer to the needsof each individual. All our services enable deafblindpeople to live as independently as possible and to fullyparticipate in the life of their local communities, wherethey can also enjoy local, mainstream amenities. Our services extend across the UK, responding to local needs as much as possible.

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Represents the number of houses by location

sense services

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where to find usYour support for Sense can make an enormousdifference to a deafblind person and their family. Please accept my gift of

£15 £25 £40 Other £

towards Sense’s work with deafblind people.

I enclose a cheque/postal order/CAF charity vouchermade payable to Sense. Or please debit my:

Mastercard Visa American Express

CAF Charity Card Maestro

Please tick here if you would like Sense to reclaim thetax you have paid on this and any future donationsyou make – this means that your gift will be worthalmost a third more! In order for Sense to reclaim thetax you have paid, you must have paid income orcapital gains tax in the UK equal to the amount thatwill be claimed (currently 28p for each £1 you give)

Occasionally Sense benefits from exchanging supporterinformation with other charities. If you would prefernot to hear from them, please tick this box.

Please return to Sense, Freepost WC4236, 11-13 Clifton Terrace, London N4 3BR

Thank you for your support!

Gift Aid

Sense Tel: 0845 127 0060 Fax: 0845 127 0061 Text: 0845 127 0062 E-Mail: [email protected]: www.sense.org.uk

Sense ScotlandTel: 0141 429 0294Fax: 0141 429 0294Text: 0141 418 7170E-Mail: [email protected]

Sense Northern IrelandTel: 028 9083 3430Fax: 028 90 84 4232Text: 028 9083 3430E-Mail: [email protected]

Sense CymruTel: 029 2045 7641Fax: 029 2049 9644Text: 029 2046 4125 E-Mail: [email protected]

(the last 3 digits of the number on your signature strip)


http://www.sense.org.uk




Sense annual review 2007

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Transcript of Sense annual review 2007