1. LOGO
MARTIN HILLIER, COMMUNITY HEAD INJURY UNIT, CAMBOURNE CENTRE
Our service is a vocational rehabilitation programme for people with
acquired brain injury. We are therefore involved in developing both
voluntary and paid work opportunities for our service users. An integral part
of this is developing voluntary work for our service users which provides
them with the opportunity to develop the confidence and strategies
required to enable them to work.
Supported Volunteering is an important service as it would ensure relevant
support is available to them as well as essential support to match them to a
suitable opportunity. This is an extremely important part of the process as
setting someone up in a placement that is not suitable can have an
extremely detrimental effect on their rehabilitation. This also helps our
service users to gain confidence and helps to guide them towards more
realistic employment opportunities.
Having an individual within Community Impact Bucks who has specialist
knowledge of working with people with disabilities is essential. This means
they are able to accurately assess an individual’s capability and place them
somewhere suitable. Disability is such a broad field and a very specialist
one, having a supported volunteering service and an expert operating is
crucial. It means supporting a highly disadvantaged group of the community
to volunteer can become a reality rather than a challenge.
Martin Hillier

2. LOGO
Dear Opportunities for All,
As you know I retired from the civil service at RAF High Wycombe in December
2009. Having suffered a head injury I was directed to your service by the
Community Head Injury Service for some support to find some voluntary work.
Upon visiting your service I was given a comprehensive interview where my
credentials were checked as well as my capabilities and preferences. You were
then able to offer me a variety of carefully matched opportunities; from here I
selected a role at St Mary’s Church. You then arranged and accompanied me to
an interview where I was introduced to Karen at St. Mary’s church. This would
have been something I would have found difficult on my own, in view of my head
injury.
Since I started at St Mary’s in Feb 2010 I am very pleased to have something to
do in my retirement. This opportunity has enabled me to keep confident,
develop and maintain my skills and sense of worth.
I would have no hesitation on
recommending your valuable service.
Mike Davies, Volunteer
Mike with Karen (left) on Pancake
Day at St Mary’s Church

3. LOGO
I have Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which is a muscle wasting disease. I have had
this since birth and my mobility has decreased steadily over the years.
When the muscles are not used for any length of time they weaken quicker, so
the benefit of getting out to my volunteering role and putting myself to good use
is not only good for them, but good for my muscles.
This has helped keep my muscles working but it has kept my brain working and
makes me happy to be helpful to Oasis Partnership and be with such friendly
people.
I am so grateful for everything Opportunities for All has done for me, finding me
the perfect match both people wise and access wise, it could not have been
better.
I enjoy the work too!
Charlotte Adkins