Public benefit

Community Development

The role of the traditional ‘day centre’ is continually shifting. With this in mind the Centre and Headway East Northants must continually evolve in order to meet the developing needs of the service users and the community in which they reside. By evaluating the services we deliver and the way in which service users and others engage with them the centre can be flexible to these changing needs. It can also maintain cultural and ethnic sensitivity through an inclusive program and up-holding the rights and responsibilities of service users, staff and volunteers throughout Headway East Northants. By doing this there is continually an environment of inclusion and a welcoming community for new people to our services.

Our centre acts as an important community space even when not in use for service users by acting as a community venue. The centre is used as a base for Local Town Councillors surgeries and Local MP surgeries helping to provide the local community with an friendly, welcoming and effective location to hold these events. This also acts to help reinforce our ties to the community and emphasis our drive to be a community resource.

East Northants Headway is a Registered Charity Number :1085311 and a Company Limited by Guarantee Number : 03788049

Registered address 61 High Street, Irthlingborough, Northants, NN9 5PU

Headway East Northants provides for the needs of mild to severe brain injured adults through therapeutic based activity services and support. This is in the form of both fee based and non- fee based services. The BMC report (BMC, 2005) indicates the prevalence of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) to be 229.4 per 100,000. This translates to 1,556 individuals hospitalised as a result of ABI within 2007 in Northamptonshire based on the Mid-year census estimates. Of these individuals statistics from the NICE guidelines indicate that of that between 678 and 1017 of those individuals will suffer some form of ABI related disability. Headway East Northants recognises the need in the community to provide a supportive organisation which can help to rebuild community ties for brain injured individuals and their families or carers, support rehabilitation and encourage activities as well as providing information and promoting awareness of brain injury.

The day services within the centre are funded through support from NHS Northamptonshire and Northamptonshire County Council through negotiated contracts in order to tailor the level of service to the individual. Assessments are conducted by Social Workers using established criteria to define the need for the rehabilitation services of Headway East Northants. The organisation in turn works with individuals to establish Personal Goals and Objectives and a Moving Forward Strategy to support someone’s return to the community independently of the statutory authorities wherever feasible.