What is it?
The Chiltern Centre provides overnight or short break care to 26 young people.
We give young people the opportunity to enjoy short break care for a few days a week or a month, giving them the opportunity to gain independence from their families, to get out and about and have some fun and to make lasting friendships.
Each of the bright and cheerful bedrooms are specially adapted to meet the needs of the young person. In addition young people are given the opportunity to personalise their experience with their own bedding and even pictures around the room so that the environment feels safe, familiar and homely for them. State of the art bathrooms allow an easy, safe and enjoyable experience during their overnight stay. Careful timetabling ensures that young people are supported by a staff team with whom they have a strong connection and they are able to share their overnight experience with other young people with whom they have a rapport or friendship.
Every element of the experience is taken into account to ensure that the stay provides each young person with a strong sense that they are safe, secure and cared for whilst also providing fun, friendship and enjoyment.
Too often facilities for young people with disabilities are incredibly limited with short break options being either miles from home or in inappropriate settings such as hospices or care homes for older people. The Chiltern Centre offers leisure activities that are specifically tailored to the unique needs of 16 - 30 year olds with disabilities.
It provides young people with disabilities the chance to make genuine friendships with peers, gives a sense of purpose to their days and brings them huge joy. Not only that, it also allows them to gain independence skills and the opportunity to begin to think about next steps as they grow older.
For families of young people with disabilities overnight short break care offers a life line. A chance for a night of unbroken sleep, the chance to perhaps get away or spend some time with other members of the family. The chance to properly relax and switch off. Many of the families we work with tell us they would not be able to cope without the break that this service provides for them.
“I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found it [the Chiltern Centre]. We really wouldn’t have much of a life without this break.”
Yvonne, Daniel’s mother
