Livability (charity)

Last updated

Livability is a national disability charity based in the UK and is the country's largest Christian disability charity. [1] The charity was formed in 2007 after a merger between the Shaftesbury Society and John Grooms. [2] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, became President of the organization in 2013 [3] and the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was its vice-president. [4]

Contents

History

An artificial rose distributed to raise funds by John Groom's Cripplegate and Flower Girls' Mission Wednesbury Museum - 2016-11-30 - Andy Mabbett - 05 CROP.jpg
An artificial rose distributed to raise funds by John Groom's Cripplegate and Flower Girls' Mission

John Alfred Groom was a Victorian philanthropist who founded the Watercress and Flower Girls' Christian Mission (later "John Groom's Cripplegate and Flower Girls' Mission"), in 1866. In 1872 the social reformer Lord Shaftesbury established the Emily Loan Fund to enable young women flower sellers to support themselves. Later, in 1914, the Ragged School Union merged into the Shaftesbury Society, becoming fully subsumed under the title of the Shaftesbury Society in 1944.

In 2007, the two charities merged and combined their experience in care, education and employment support to create the disability charity Livability. [5]

Services

Livability provides a number of services for disabled people across the country. These include education services such as school and colleges, care homes, specialist rehabilitation services, holidays for disabled people, employment advice and training courses. [6]

Livability also works with entrepreneurs to acquire the skills necessary to run a business. They provide workshops and training courses which cover business planning, book-keeping and marketing. [7]

In December 2014 Livability acquired Holton Lee in Dorset - now Livability Holton Lee. [8] Livability Holton Lee is a large, predominantly outdoor area which is to be used for accessible holidays as well as being a venue for weddings and art exhibitions. [9]

Community engagement and church work

Livability’s community engagement team supports churches and Christian projects in disadvantaged urban areas by running courses providing resources, practical support and training courses.

In 2015 Livability worked with the Christian charity Mind and Soul to produce the Mental Health Access Pack. The Mental Health Access Pack is an online resource created to help church leaders make their churches fully accessible to people with mental health issues. [10] Katharine Welby-Roberts, the daughter of Archbishop Justin Welby and ex-Livability employee, helped to launch the Pack. In an interview in January 2015 she said: "Churches have a responsibility to welcome everyone who comes to them in Christ's name, but the reality is that they don't always know how best to support people who are struggling with mental health issues. The Mental Health Access Pack will help equip churches to make God's love more visible in the welcome they offer to every person." [11]

Patrons

Notable patrons and supporters of Livability include: Anne, Princess Royal (Patron); Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury (President); Valerie Howarth (Senior Vice President and Trustee); Esther Rantzen (Vice President); and Pam Rhodes (Vice President). [12] Harry Redknapp has also attended events in support of Livability. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archbishop of Canterbury</span> Senior bishop of the Church of England

The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justin Welby, who was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. Welby is the 105th person to hold the position, as part of a line of succession going back to the "Apostle to the English" Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent to the island by the church in Rome in 597. Welby succeeded Rowan Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowan Williams</span> Archbishop of Canterbury from 2003 to 2012

Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales, Williams was the first Archbishop of Canterbury in modern times not to be appointed from within the Church of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lytchett Minster</span> Village in Dorset, England

Lytchett Minster is a village in Dorset, England. It lies around 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Poole town centre. The village forms part of the civil parish of Lytchett Minster and Upton, Upton now being a suburb of Poole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awareness ribbon</span> Symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause

Awareness ribbons are symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause. Different colors and patterns are associated with different issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Canterbury</span> Ecclesiastical province of the Church of England

The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York.

Pam Rhodes is an English television, radio presenter and author, known for presenting BBC Television's long-running religious series Songs of Praise since the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore</span> Singapore voluntary welfare organisation

Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) is a voluntary welfare organisation based in Singapore, that provides services for the intellectually disabled. MINDS was founded in 1962, and remains one of the largest charities in Singapore. Over 600 staff and 2,400 beneficiaries are a part of MINDS. Two other organisations, the Association for Persons with Special Needs and Metta School were formed as an offshoot of MINDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christians Against Poverty</span> UK charitable organisation

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a Christian charitable company in the United Kingdom founded in Bradford, West Yorkshire by John Kirkby in 1996. It is a national organisation specialising in debt counselling for people in financial difficulty, including those in need of bankruptcy or insolvency. It also provides Job Clubs for those seeking employment, Life Skills groups helping people with practical skills to survive on a low income and Fresh Start Courses for people looking to overcome addictions and dependencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clergy Support Trust</span> Charity in the UK and Ireland

Clergy Support Trust is a charity which provides support to Anglican clergy, ordinands, curates, and their families, in the UK, Ireland, Diocese in Europe and Diocese of Sodor and Man. In 2022, they supported over 2,300 clergy households.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Welby</span> Archbishop of Canterbury since 2013

Justin Portal Welby is a British Anglican bishop who, since 2013, has been the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam in Warwickshire, and later served as Dean of Liverpool and Bishop of Durham. As Archbishop of Canterbury he is the Primate of All England and the symbolic head primus inter pares of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Moxon</span> New Zealand Anglican bishop

Sir David John Moxon is a New Zealand Anglican bishop. He was until June 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He was previously the Bishop of Waikato in the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki, the archbishop of the New Zealand dioceses and one of the three primates of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In the 2014 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Anglican Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Butler (bishop)</span> Bishop of Durham (born 1955)

Paul Roger Butler is a retired British Anglican bishop and a former Lord Spiritual of the House of Lords. He was installed and enthroned in Durham Cathedral on 22 February 2014 and was the Bishop of Durham, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Durham, from 20 January 2014 to 29 February 2024. On 12 September 2013 it was announced that he had been appointed as bishop-designate of Durham He was previously bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. He was installed at Southwell Minster on 27 February 2010. He served as the suffragan bishop of Southampton in the Diocese of Winchester from 2004 until 2010.

The Archbishops' Council is a part of the governance structures of the Church of England. Its headquarters are at Church House, Great Smith Street, London.

The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) is an Anglican missionary society founded in 1809.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Holtam</span> British Anglican bishop (born 1954)

Nicholas Roderick Holtam is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Salisbury from 2011 until his retirement in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Churches Trust</span> British charity

The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Treweek</span> Anglican bishop in England

Rachel Treweek is an English Anglican bishop who sits in the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual.

John Swinton, is a Scottish theologian, academic, and Presbyterian minister. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen. John is founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability.

The intersection of disability and religion concerns the manner in which disabled people are treated within religious communities, the religious texts of those religions, or the general input from religious discourse on matters relating to disability. Studies on the relationship between religion and disability vary widely, with some postulating the existence of ableism and others viewing religion as a primary medium through which to assist disabled people. Religious exhortation often prompts adherents to treat people with disabilities with deference, however when the disability constitutes a mental illness such an approach may be slanted with an acknowledgement of the latter's naivete. In religions with an eschatological belief in divine judgment, there are often traditions promulgating an exemption from judgement in the afterlife for mentally disabled people, as well as for children who die before reaching maturity due to both lacking an understanding of their actions in a manner analogous to the insanity defense. Regarding the rationale behind God's creation of disabled people, some religions maintain that their contrast with the non-disabled permits the non-disabled to reflect and God to subsequently assess the level of gratitude shown by each individual for their health.

The Lambeth Awards are awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In addition to the Lambeth degrees, there are a number of non-academic awards. Before 2016, these awards consisted of the Lambeth Cross, the Canterbury Cross, and the Cross of St Augustine. In 2016, these awards were expanded with six new awards named after previous Archbishops of Canterbury.

References

  1. ↑ "Tackling mental health stigma in churches". Eauk.org. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  2. ↑ "Welcome to Livability". Livability. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  3. ↑ "Archbishop becomes president of disability charity". Archbishopofcanterbury.org. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Archbishop becomes president of disability charity | Hereford Diocese". Hereford.anglican.org. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  5. ↑ "Our history". Livability. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  6. ↑ "Our services". Livability. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  7. ↑ Rezene Woldeyesus (2011-08-10). "Enterprise Agency | Livability - Choices for disabled people". Livability. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  8. ↑ "Holton Lee merges with Livability | Livability Holton Lee". Holtonlee.org. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  9. ↑ "at Holton Lee | Livability - Choices for disabled people". Livability. 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  10. ↑ "About Us". mentalhealthaccesspack.org. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  11. ↑ "Archbishop of Canterbury and daughter back churches' mental health toolkit - Christian News on Christian Today". Christiantoday.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  12. ↑ "Patron & honorary positions". Livability.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  13. ↑ "VIDEO: The innovative sensory changing rooms that will help disabled children prepare for the swimming pool". Bournemouthecho.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.