Candidate Information Pack
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Candidate Information Pack Trustee - Marketing March 2016 1 48-62 Woodville Road Harborne Birmingham B17 9AT March 2016 I would like as Chair to introduce you to the charity, Focus Birmingham. In 1848 Birmingham Royal Institute for the Blind (BRIB) was established. In 1997 the operations of BRIB were transferred to three new charitable companies of Queen Alexandra College (QAC), Focus Birmingham and New Outlook Housing Association. Focus Birmingham is a specialist charity providing expert support, advice and information to anyone in the Birmingham and wider area affected by sight loss and disability. We are very proud of our history and the services we have provided. The organisation employs over 140 staff and provides a wide range of high quality, innovative services to support visually impaired and disabled people to improve their everyday lives. This is an exciting opportunity for new trustees to be appointed to the Board who can bring a diverse range of skills and expertise to assist the charity to develop business opportunities and to meet financial and governance obligations and commitments. You will be part of a team that is passionate and dedicated to achieving its core objective to deliver quality services which are ‘user led’ as much as possible. The trustee role at Focus is both challenging and rewarding and you will be contributing to the strategic leadership of a charity with a proud and respected history. On behalf of the Focus Board we look forward to hearing from you. Kindest regards Heather Lees Chair to the Focus Board Local support for sight impaired and disabled people. www.focusbirmingham.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1065745. Registered Company No. 3353444. 2 About Us Focus Birmingham (Focus) is a registered charity and the biggest provider of support, care, advice and guidance to those with visual impairment and other disabilities in Birmingham. With more than 2 million people with sight loss across UK, we exist to ensure that individuals with visual impairments and other disabilities are fully supported in living their lives independently and in a fulfilling way. Focus Birmingham wants to extend the impact it has on the lives of blind, visually-impaired and disabled people in the West Midlands enabling them to reach their full potential through high quality services, delivered by skilled and well- motivated staff. The best way to understand us is through our services Low Vision Services: Our Low Vision Centre has an international reputation in the diagnosis, management and support of people with sight loss. Our award-winning staff provides expertise and innovation and we’re proud to say we have one of the best living aid resource centres in the country. The service is aimed at the vast majority of visually impaired people who have some useful vision, and is there to give optical help beyond the provision of spectacles, with assessment and therapy, the prescription of vision aids and rehabilitation training. Community Services: Our services include support, information, advice to people with sight and hearing loss. We work on individual needs to offer reassurance and practical assistance and partner with social services where appropriate Day Services: Our day services teams work with adults from the age of nineteen upwards, with no upper age limit, to deliver stimulating programmes of activities which are tailored to the needs of the individual. We specialise in working with people with visual impairment and other complex needs and providing person-centred care and support with a wide range of opportunities for learning and socialising so that each person can achieve their full potential. Residential Services: Focus Birmingham has a registered residential homes, Beech House in Erdington . The service provides 24-hour care and support to adults who have a visual impairment, learning and physical disabilities and other associated needs. It is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and meets the current standards of care specified by the CQC. Millward Place – Supported Living Scheme Millward Place consists of 14 self-contained one-bedroom apartments which have been specifically designed with the tenant’s specific needs in mind and to provide a safe and secure long-term home. All the current residents at Millward Place, which was developed by Bromford Housing, are supported by Focus Birmingham. Partnerships: Focus Birmingham works to transform the lives of the city’s visually impaired residents. We are the foremost provider of specialist sight services and our drive, in partnership with Guide Dogs, Blind Children UK and Queen Alexandra College, is to further develop our ‘Centre of Excellence’ where professional support can be readily accessed. 3 Key Highlights of 2015 We were delighted to have been selected as one of the beneficiaries for the People’s Millions Project. These projects have been proving a big hit with service users at Focus Birmingham, who have taken up the opportunity to get involved. The projects funded were – Can’t see can cook, Gym Buddies, Shop ‘till you drop, Accessing the arts. We are nearing the end of a comprehensive refurbishment which began in 2010. The work has resulted in vastly improved and modern facilities for our staff and visually impaired service users as part of our ambition to become a centre of excellence with our partners Guide Dogs, Blind Children UK, and Queen Alexandra College. Visually impaired service users and supporters took a courageous step in the aid of the charity and abseiled down the 190ft Birmingham city centre Holiday Inn. The event was organised as a part of World Sight Day and raised over £6,000 for Focus. Dozens of staff employed by telecom giant Virgin Media discovered first hand what it is like to live with sight loss during a fund-raising event in aid of a visually impaired charity in Birmingham. Virgin Media Access and Customer Engineering team chose Focus Birmingham, based in Harborne to be the beneficiary of the company's annual team-building day, which is also held in aid of charity. The Access and Customer Engineering (ACE) Summer Event, which took place on the Frisbee Field at Radcliffe House, University of Warwick, in Coventry, involved a series of visually impaired challenges for the 80 Virgin Media staff who took part. Chris Sheriff and Ray Carr both ran their first ever 26 mile distance when they entered, and finished, this year’s Virgin London Marathon. Through their network of support, between them, they raised just under £4,000 for Focus and delighted to have taken part. A local shop in Harborne offered support for Focus Birmingham by raising an impressive £500. Local visually impaired school children were able to fully maintain their educational potential via a project to supply electronic book readers run by the Low Vision Centre at Focus Birmingham, funded by generous grants from The Ernest Cook Trust. 4 Key Highlights continued... Millward Place A new supported housing development has been officially unveiled in Birmingham specialising in aiding people with visual impairments and disability. The development is the result of a partnership between sight loss charity Focus Birmingham and Bromford Housing. The aim of the ‘My Place’ model is to raise the aspirations of people with long term health or support needs to help them live independently, reduce dependency and harness opportunities. Among those attending the opening of Millward Place in February 2016 was Councillor Mike Leddy (Labour, Brandwood Ward) who was joined by Focus chief executive Tom Harrison and Bromford Business Manager Josie Bishton. Millward Place consists of 14 self-contained one-bedroom apartments which have been specifically designed with the tenant’s specific needs in mind and to provide a safe and secure long-term home. Contrast and Technology Suite Focus Birmingham were delighted to have received a £10,000 donation from Yorkshire Building Society. Yorkshire Building Society pledged the donation during its 150th anniversary year and Focus Birmingham was one of 15 chosen by members of the public to receive a £10,000 cash boost from the donation. In total, more than 600 charities applied to the Society’s Lasting Legacy Fund before 30 were put forward for a public vote. Focus Birmingham, which provides specialist support and advice to the visually impaired, has used the £10,000 to produce a contrast and technology suite to be able to demonstrate the important use of lighting, space and contrast to enable visually impaired people to live more independently and safely at home. 5 Our Impact On Excellence – Focus wants to extend the impact it has on lives of blind, visually impaired and disabled people in the West Midlands and champions best practice to transform lives. The Elizabeth Gunn Centre supports people with sight loss and additional disabilities. These can range from learning disabilities to mental health issues. The centre provides a range of stimulating activities and opportunities for people that often have very limited life experiences outside the centre. On Learning – We build ability and confidence through skills that create independence, promote social interaction and enjoyment in being out and about. Our services include Rehabilitation, Social and befriending schemes, Helpline, Physiotherapy, teaching Makaton sign language, practical skills for those newly diagnosed with sight loss and disability. On Independence – Our community programmes help people learn skills and techniques to manage for themselves. It has helped them make new friends, enjoy new experiences and has improved their health and well-being. On Innovation - Our Low Vision Centre provides more than 550 hours of support, stocks over 250 items to make life easier for those with visual impairment, trains optometrists and rehabilitation officers of the future at Aston University and Birmingham City University. On Commitment – Focus Birmingham volunteers are an integral part of the charity, providing services at our Harborne site, in our service users’ homes across the city and in the wider Birmingham community.