Local Chichester charity supporting young people with learning disabilities opens doors to The Boardwalk in Chichester to share progress on their new specialist building!!

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King and Drury (K&D) working with Cover Storey Architects, provided an open evening in December 2024 to allow the TOC young people and their families to view the progress on their new specialist building. The K&D team laid on Christmas refreshments including hot chocolate with whipped cream for the young people and successfully managed all their wide ranging questions on the new building.  The event was a huge success with the young people having access to all the spaces/rooms and getting an early idea on what opportunities the new building will unlock for them. Everyone left with huge enthusiasm and excitement on what will be an amazing new vibrant facility for the young people.

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Sam Cole, Project Quantity Surveyor from King and Drury explains:

“We are incredibly proud to collaborate with Together Our Community (TOC) and CoverStorey Architects on this project. The excitement and enthusiasm from the young people and their families at the recent open evening were truly inspiring. This specialist building will offer invaluable opportunities for learning, development, and inclusion, and we’re honoured to help create a space that will have a lasting impact on the Chichester community.

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We can’t wait to see this amazing facility come to life in 2025!”

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Together Our Community (TOC) provides opportunities for young people (18 - 35) with learning disabilities to come together to build their skills to live, learn and work in the local community.  TOC focus on supporting the young adults reach their full potential and allow them to practice skill they have acquired at school and/or college within work or volunteering environments.

 

The basis of a day at TOC involves each young person attending a meaningful work experience/ volunteering placement that is aligned as closely as possible to their dreams and aspirations.  The TOC team support the young people at the placements to help them complete work related tasks safely and providing the right balance of guidance to help each young person build their confidence as they develop new skills.  TOC complement the day with activities to support the development of life skills and activities that promote the young people’s wellbeing working with key local partners such as ‘Everyone Active’.

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TOC has exciting expansion plans to increase the range of opportunities for young people and received planning permission in October to adapt a building in Chichester town centre – The Boardwalk.  The building is still undergoing extensive renovation to make it fully accessible to people with disabilities. It will eventually provide a range of new learning and development opportunities including a training kitchen, a café to provide the young people with practical work experience opportunities, an activity space for wellbeing activities, a dining/communal area, an art room and a sensory room to provide relief to young people with more complex needs.  

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Hilary Freeborough, CEO of TOC explained:

"It is so important that we promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in communities and allow them to demonstrate the significant contribution they can make to any community. It is equally important that communities recognise and value this contribution.  We are therefore so fortunate to be getting an accessible facility in central Chichester that will allow us to help achieve this important objective."

 

TOC hope to be in the building during the summer term of 2025.  TOC want to hear from young people that would be interested in accessing the activities that they offer or anyone that would like to volunteer in working with their amazing young people. If you would like to get in touch you can do so by email: contact@tocommunity.org.uk or via their website www.tocommunity.org.uk .

The charity continue with their fundraising to support their exciting new planned expansion.  If you are able to help the charity you can donate via their donation page on their website at www.tocommunity.org.uk