Ian shares with us how and why he got involved with Where I Want to Live…
All parents worry about their children, but in many respects I may be fortunate, if you can call it that, that my children can now do their own worrying. Jobs, finances, where and how they live are now all in their domain. The Bank of Dad remains open 24/7 but they make their own decisions and have the tools to do so.
Two years ago, Robert Morelli, one of the founders of Where I Want to Live, who I had known for a number of years, approached me with his idea for this charity. After many years advising charities and other not for profit organisations, and sitting on a wide variety of charity Boards, Roberto wanted to sound out my thoughts on the possible structure, governance and general feasibility of getting this project off the ground.
In truth I knew nothing about the problems young people with disabilities and their families had in accessing any information, yet alone quality relevant information, to assist them in determining the important questions of where they want to live. Naively I had assumed that a combination of local authorities, social services and other parties working in this field would come together to assist those requiring the requisite knowledge to make this important decision. I learnt, sadly, this is often not the case.
There is a massive black hole where viable help should exist and I was frankly appalled that so many young people and their families were left to flounder around amongst a whole myriad of resources in order to acquire sufficient knowledge to make these vital accommodation decisions. Where I Want to Live directly addresses this void and provides an invaluable and desperately needed resource which will make the lives of those seeking this information so much easier
I am proud to have been involved in the establishment of this charity and sit on its Trustee Board. But the Trustees can do only so much. To make this work we need secure finances and people with a passion, drive and commitment to make this project a success. If anyone reading this thinks that they can contribute to these in any way then we want to hear from them.
Coming together we can make a real and permanent difference.
Could you help us? We’re at the start of our journey and if you have experience or expertise that could help shape our vision of a country where adults with learning disabilities have real choice about where and how they live, we’d love to hear from you.