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Funding provides wheelchair access at care farm
Funding provides wheelchair access at care farm
A local care farm has received a funding boost from an East Suffolk councillor.
Cllr Linda Coulam, East Suffolk councillor for the Gunton and St. Margarets ward, donated £3,000 from her Enabling Communities Budget to Pathways Care Farm to support the installation of new wheelchair access.
An opening event was held at Lowestoft-based Pathways on Friday 2 September, attended by Cllr Coulam, representatives from Pathways Care Farm and members of the Waveney Suffolk Help in Multiple Sclerosis (SHIMS) group.
Cllr Coulam said: “It gives me great pleasure to support the wonderful work of Pathways Care Farm once again. The new wheelchair access will enable more people to enjoy the farm and benefit from the services on offer, so I am delighted to be able to make this donation.”
Geoff Stevens, Founder and Director of Pathways Care Farm said: “We are grateful to Cllr Coulam for kindly donating the money from her Enabling Communities Budget. At Pathways, we provide support for people with mental health issues, learning difficulties and dementia and are now pleased to also be able to help people with physical disabilities. The funding has enabled those using wheelchairs to access parts of the farm which were previously unavailable to them.”
East Suffolk Council’s Enabling Communities Budgets support activities delivered by community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations. Distributed equally amongst each of the Council’s 55 members, each ward councillor has a £7,500 Enabling Community Budget to spend on community projects or to develop new projects which tackle community needs in their area.
Previous projects which have benefitted from Enabling Community Budget funding include play areas, village hall refurbishments and equipment, community events, projects supporting people with disabilities and the purchase of defibrillators. Community groups wishing to apply for Enabling Community Budget funding should contact their district councillor.
Waveney SHIMS is a self-help group for people with MS, run by people with MS and offers support and friendship, complimentary therapies, information and social events. The group meets at Pakefield Church Hall on the first and third Friday of each month. For more details about the group, please contact Madge Ing on ma06dge@hotmail.com.