EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND / ESSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION KEY FUND
We have completed a £5000 project from the Essex Community Key fund, specifically for work in the West Clacton area. We worked with disabled clients who wish to find employment.
EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND / ExDRA
We have completed a set of E.S.F. contracts administered by the Essex Development and Regeneration Agency (ExDRA) helping to prepare people for employment, voluntary work or further education. Some of these clients have come in to work with us at the Institute, others we have visited at their homes. These contracts are now complete. In the last 2 years, we have successfully helped 26 clients through to the next stage of their lives.
OUTREACH
We do what we can to support clients in their own homes. Many of our students gain the confidence to acquire a computer of their own, only to get into trouble with Internet connections, viruses or faulty printers. Wherever possible, we try to come to the client's home to fix the problem and show them how to deal with it in future.
REFERRALS
OTT welcomes referrals from statutory agencies, voluntary bodies, friends, families or clients themselves. We have worked with Social Services, Speech and Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, GPs, Optometrists, Essex Library Services, Job Centre Plus, Headway, Mind, St Helena Hospice and many other organisations.
At present, OTT operates mainly in North-East Essex, the areas of Colchester, Tendring, Maldon and the Dengie peninsula. However we also take students from other areas, from Mid-Essex, from Suffolk, and in one case even from Canvey Island. We get excellent feedback from our clients, their carers and the many professionals who refer them to us. We have over 10 years of positive comments, examination achievements and success stories to show the value of our services. Our classes are always full and we often have a waiting list. If we could establish ourselves further afield, far more disabled people could benefit from our unique provision. The business model of working in partnership with a Further Education college to deliver LSC funded courses in support of a wider range of activities, is one that could and should be repeated everywhere.
OTT supports clients at home
as part of its outreach policy
