Community Futures - Kent

The Avenues Trust Group thinks that there is more to life than just getting support from us. 

People should have the chance to take part in things where they live. This could include using sports clubs, libraries, local shops and all the places used by everybody else. 

Avenues has worked with Simon Goldsmith at Values Incorporated for many years. He has worked with a group of people in Sevenoaks and Swanley to support people to be active in the local community. We thought that there must be something we could do together and this is where Community Futures Kent started.

The new organisation is now registered as a Charity. It is part of the Avenues Group. This means it is one of a number of smaller charities that make up the Avenues Group. Community Futures Kent is being supported by Avenues until it is ready to work on it's own. 

Community Futures Kent is chaired by Vivienne Smith (pictured right with Simon Goldsmith).

The Charity aims to do the following things:

• To support more people with learning disabilities to be active in the communities where they live. For example, getting jobs, going to sports clubs and being part of community projects. 
• To support more people with learning disabilities to become local leaders in the community. This means being part of deciding what happens in the community and how money is spent.
• To support people with learning disabilities to learn new skills.
• To help people speak up about their lives and what would make a difference to them
• To support people to make their own person centred plans and get the lives they want.
• To support the setting up of new projects that help people get paid work or the chance to learn about going to work. 
• To work on projects that help the whole community meet one another and work together. 
• To work with people in our local communities to make information easier to read.
• To share our work with other people in Kent and beyond. This includes writing things to tell people what we do.

The work of Community Futures Kent is all about involving the local community. We would be really pleased to hear from you if you have any ideas or can help us in any way. Please contact: info@communityfutureskent.org.uk