Hansel

A Gift For a New Beginning

For over six decades, Hansel has been a leading light in social care across Ayrshire, supporting individuals with additional needs to thrive. Their vision is simple: To give people of all abilities the freedom to live the life they choose.

When Isobel and Tom Murdoch founded Hansel in 1963 the aim was to give their daughter Lindy, and other young people with learning disabilities, inclusive support in a homely living environment. As they developed Hansel Village in the grounds of Broadmeadows Estate near Symington, they led the way in shifting thinking around additional support needs, showing that the right support at the right time and in the right place could significantly improve the quality of life and outcomes for adults with learning disabilities. They challenged the limiting societal ‘norms’ of their time and set a new tone for inclusion in Ayrshire and across Scotland.

Since those early days Hansel has grown, evolved and diversified, expanding the services on offer to meet a wider range of support needs both on the original Symington site and across Ayrshire through community-based living support in different types of housing. In addition, Hansel provides access to training for work and supported employment opportunities through the social enterprises based in Broadmeadows Estate: Lindy’s Tearoom, a commercial laundry service and grounds maintenance services. As Hansel has developed throughout the years, so too have the opportunities for people receiving support to make their own life choices and live as independently as possible.

I catch up with Hansel’s CEO, Gerry Lindsay, in Lindy’s Tearoom, a vibrant community hub for residents, staff and visitors, to find out more about the work of this local charity. As soon as we start talking, I get a sense of the passion behind the vision and the pride which comes from working at Hansel.

“It was a career-defining and life changing opportunity for me to work alongside the founders’ elder daughter, Blanche Nicolson MBE, who became Hansel’s ‘guiding light’ from the mid-80s through to her retirement in 2016… and equally a huge privilege to work with a talented and committed team of over 400 colleagues who live the organisation’s values and continue to build on the remarkable work that Blanche and her parents undertook to ensure people with additional needs in Ayrshire have the freedom to live the life they choose.”

As Gerry goes on to explain, supporting an individual’s right to choose is very much at the heart of Hansel’s vision.

“We have a breadth of experience across our teams which means we can enable people to live independently, assisting with personal care, maintaining a home, socialising, and securing and sustaining employment. We also offer accommodation in our residential small group homes, as well as providing holiday-style respite breaks for over 200 visitors each year. The needs of many individuals and families we work with are becoming more diverse – from mild learning disability to more profound and complex care needs, with an increasing number of people living within the autistic spectrum. Looking ahead, providing the right type of support in the right environment for individuals with a more complex range of needs is a priority.”

With the welcome increase in opportunities for individuals with complex support needs to live more independently in our communities comes the challenge that’s faced across the social care sector in recruiting and retaining the staff numbers needed to provide the required support. Whilst the strain on the NHS is well publicised, the strain on social care is less widely acknowledged but no less critical: care and support providers are simply not getting the resources they need to adequately recruit and retain staff. Gerry is optimistic however, that the health and social care partnerships in Ayrshire will continue to positively engage with Hansel and other local care and support providers to identify solutions to the sectoral pressures being managed at this time.

For front-line workers who have made a career supporting people at Hansel it’s clear that the rewards are in the very strong bonds between carers and the individuals they support. Continuity of care is critical, Gerry goes on to explain, because ultimately, it’s all about relationships. He tells me of one member of the care team who recently retired after 44 years of service, having devoted her working life to caring for the ‘larger than life characters who give you the reason to want to be a Hansel support worker.’

With the oldest resident at Hansel’s estate now in their late 80s, and many having been supported by Hansel for close to 50 years, it’s no wonder the bonds are strong in this community which can feel more like an extended family.

While there has been progress in understanding inclusion and how to better support individuals with additional needs more widely in society, Gerry’s keen to point out that aside from those directly providing a caring role, those of us living in the same communities can also make a difference.

“We all have gifts we can share. It’s surprising how the gifts we have can manifest in everyday lives and we can use them to offer more informal supports in the community – to build relationships and connections to ensure everyone is meaningfully included and equally valued.”

When it comes to supporting Hansel there are many opportunities to make a positive contribution. Volunteers, individuals or businesses, who can help enhance the environment and accommodation within Hansel’s Broadmeadows Estate by volunteering their time and skills are warmly welcomed. Equally welcome are those who can help further develop social opportunities for residents by providing local community activities linked to lifestyle choices and interests, thus actively engaging them in the life of the wider community and breaking down barriers along the way. If you’re wondering how or if you could support individuals at Hansel, Gerry offers this advice: “Ask yourself this: what could I do to support an individual’s wellbeing? What could I contribute to support a fulfilling life?”

What’s apparent as we discuss the future for Hansel is that getting it right at an individual level is a collective effort. It’s in the partnerships and collaborations that the solutions will be found, especially at a time when social care is under pressure and charities are working relentlessly to meet the needs of those they serve. Matching funding and staffing to future needs, re-developing the original Hansel site to provide co-designed modern accommodation, maintaining the grounds and buildings, supporting Hansel’s social enterprise businesses and continuing to advance social inclusion across Ayrshire so that people with additional support needs can live independent and fulfilling lives can all be more effectively achieved with the help of the wider community.

Hansel, which means ‘a gift for a new beginning,’ has seen its fair share of changes through the years, supporting people and their families as they navigate the impact of external challenges. What hasn’t changed from those very first founding days, though, are the aims which have been carried by those who have followed. Their mission remains the same: To deliver empowering support so every person feels included and experiences equality, choice, dignity, compassion and respect.

In reflecting on the work of Hansel and the privilege of working within a community committed to delivering that gift of a new beginning for people with additional needs and their families, Gerry leaves me with one final thought.

“Often it’s the gifts from those we support that are the most pronounced.”