How does my money help?
Sense provides specialist information, advice and services to deafblind people, their families, carers and professionals who work with them.
In addition, we support people who have sensory impairments with additional disabilities. Our services are available to those who need them and are funded through charitable donations, grants and statutory fees.
In 2009
- 224 children and adults received support from our Family Education and Advisory Service, and our outreach workers
- We offered individually-tailored support to 309 deafblind people who live in Sense-run houses and flats
- 1420 deafblind people and their families joined a series of activities – from Saturday clubs to family days – which offered information, support, friendship and fun
- We provided holidays for 143 deafblind people with the support of 180 volunteers
Our work with children
Children born with vision and hearing impairments – and often other disabilities to cope with – need skilled help from a wide range of professionals. Sense specialists provide vital early support to deafblind children, their families and the professionals who work with them. We promote effective multi-agency working, carry out assessments, and develop individual programmes that will help each child to reach his or her full potential. We also work closely with government and other agencies to ensure that the needs of deafblind children are fully taken account of.
Sense also supports families, giving them a voice and enabling them to share information and offer much-needed support to each other. Our membership scheme has grown by 10% to 1781 members and we support 14 branches and networks and a range of other groups across the country.
Our work with adults
Sense believes that each individual should be able to choose the lifestyle and support that is right for them. Our specialist services enable deafblind people to live as independently as possible, offering a range of housing, educational, employment and leisure opportunities to suit each particular individual.
This year Sense has continued to improve its position on the quality of its services, with 89% of our services being rated as good or excellent (up from 84% last year) by the Care Quality Commission. We continue to have no services rated as poor.
Our work with older people
More and more people are experiencing combined sight and hearing difficulties as they get older. Sense provides support, information and training to enable older people to live as independently as possible – overcoming barriers and combating the isolation that many experience. This includes providing communicator guide schemes in many parts of the country and working with local authorities to help them provide such schemes themselves.
Sense has also been campaigning strongly to raise awareness of the needs of the many older people with combined sight and hearing difficulties. In 2008/2009 the third phase of our Fill the Gaps campaign focused upon healthcare providers.
