In my view…Maggie Williams, NORCAS chief executive .
At NORCAS we feel it is true to say that the environment in which the charity now operates is more chaotic than ever, with the NHS reforms and Government u-turns in legislation, but we have remained fully operational despite sometimes being uncertain of upcoming changes or funding. Our service users are often experiencing chaotic times themselves but can be reassured that with our new service delivery model in place they continue to be at the centre of what we do. We now work with our clients before, during and after their treatment which we truly feel is the best support we can provide.
We are focused more than ever on client outcomes even with continued talk from the government about definitions e.g. for abstinence, read recovery. We believe the proof is in the pudding and because we are committed to what we do, instead of concentrating on defining our services we can let the outcomes speak for themselves.
Amid all of the political chaos we are currently being subjected to there are of course some concerns which we as a charity are mindful of. The housing benefit cuts and return to work schemes are contributing to increasing homelessness and, with the effects of alcohol misuse becoming more prevalent, our plea is to get industries to work together with health, police and community leaders to minimise this very real harm to both the community and funding. At NORCAS we fully believe that ‘change happens together’.
On a positive note, joint working with businesses is growing an incredibly exciting prospect for us as a charity, and we are also diversifying into other fundraising avenues. This leads me on to the launch of our very first NORCAS Week. We will be recruiting volunteers to raise money locally and all funds raised will go directly to clients, both adult and youth in Norfolk intially. We are asking volunteers to help us in our community fundraising quest by signing up and raising £250 each. Information on how to get involved is detailed later on in this newsletter.
Our second NORCAS charity ball, which this year was held in aid of our ‘Too Much Too Young’ appeal, has been a huge success raising over £8,000. What a fantastic evening and a big thank you to everyone who helped to organise the event and those who came along to show their support and offered such a generous reception to our cause. We are happy to announce that our next ball will be held in Suffolk and we will have more information on that at a later date.
We would like to thank everyone who has and continues to give money and expertise to the ‘Too Much Too Young’ appeal. Its success has seen the appointment of our first affected others worker, Jade Claxton, who we would like to officially welcome to the NORCAS team. Jade’s appointment will make a big difference to the lives of the local children she will be working with. We also welcome our new Head of Service Delivery & Quality (Youth), Ali Hall, who joins us on 18 July.
Life continues to be busy, challenging but exciting.