1 Sep 2008
The cover of September’s Hounslow Matters shows Barry Kendall, who gives up his free time to volunteer at Heston fire station once a week.
Barry has learning disabilities, but with the help of his support worker and the council’s community access team, he can lead an active life, fulfilling his ambitions and helping others.
The support the council offers Barry is just one of hundreds of services we provide to people in the borough. Some of these - such as rubbish collection and street cleaning - are obvious to anyone who lives here. But there are hundreds of others that provide support to people to help them live an independent life, something that so many of us take for granted.
These include older people who struggle to live by themselves, but don’t want to go into a care home, and individuals who want to get to work, but haven’t got the skills employers are looking for. We help them get the training and guidance they need so they can go on to support themselves. There are also many other people in the borough with learning disabilities or mental health issues and we provide the services which allow them to live their lives the way they want.
In the September edition, you will see a handful of the kinds of things we do to help local people help themselves. From Barry’s story and the travel buddy scheme, to information about a job and careers fair.
I am very proud that we can offer these types of services that can make such a huge difference to people’s lives and the community as a whole.
Cllr Peter Thompson
Leader
London Borough of Hounslow
