Member Article

Cabinet Office recognition for Durham charity

A County Durham charity has been praised by the Cabinet Office and government ministers for pioneering ‘imaginative’ partnerships with other third sector organisations. DISC (Developing Initiatives Supporting Communities) has expanded from a small training scheme for unemployed people in Durham City into one of the North East’s biggest home grown voluntary organizations. The charity has now been featured on the Cabinet Office website and in a brochure about how the third sector and public sector can work together.

DISC specialises in enabling marginalised individuals whose lives are in crisis due to poor housing, substance misuse, family breakdown and low skills to fulfill their potential regardless of their circumstances.

Steve Johnson, DISC founder, said: “Making the transition from unemployment to being ‘work ready’ and then finding and staying in a job doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey - and the process of supporting people as they overcome barriers and move through the different stages of the journey needs to be well managed. We in the voluntary and community sector have a key role to play in ensuring that people participate fully in society and are not marginalized.”

DISC currently runs a range of innovative and holistic employability programmes in Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Co Durham and Tees Valley. They are aimed at people on benefits, including Incapacity Benefit, and people with a history of drug or alcohol abuse, offending or homelessness.

During 2007 the teams covering Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and the Tees Valley met and bettered their targets by helping 75% of the people using their service into employment, education or training.

DISC Tyneside and Tees Valley projects manager Karen Taylor said: “It’s very important not to set people up to fail. You have to look at all the issues they face and start with small steps which gradually become bigger steps. You have to focus on the benefits of being at work, the self esteem, the social networks and the opportunities, and not only the money.”

The DISC website is www.disc-vol.org.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .