A word from our patron, Joe Absolom

Dear Reader,

May I first welcome you to our website and thank you for taking the time to do so. I first learned of Hill Park Autistic Trust and its work through a close friend and was immediately impressed with the commitment of all involved in the running of the organisation. I decided that I would like to know more and so went along to their registered home, Frank House in Erith, Kent, and was surprised to discover that many of the service users were the same age as me, and had similar social interests, and I had some very interesting conversations with them.

The Trust provides services for adults on the autistic spectrum, mainly High Functioning Autism and Aspergers Sydrome. The residential service users are provided with continuous care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and are offered support and advice on all aspects of life, including self-care, cooking, money management and budgeting, travel and accessing further education and/or employment opportunities; they are also given financial help to go on holiday, with or without staff support.

The Trust manages an Outreach service offering similar help and support to clients living in the community.

In addition, the Trust offers counselling to adults on the autistic spectrum and their carers, which is a growing need in these enlightened times.

The main aim of the Trust is to help as many of its service users as are able, to live independently in their own home. We have already achieved this aim for some and will be working hard to continue these successes in the future.

Ideally, the Trust would like to provide its own purpose-built sheltered accommodation for those service users who are ready to take the first steps towards independence. However, this takes money and there is already a constant battle to keep the existing services running at the high standards we have come to expect.

If you feel as I do and would like to support H.P.A.T. either by becoming a member and joining in with our fundraising activities or merely making a donation to this worthy cause, please write to us or e-mail us at Frank House: info@hillpark.co.uk

Joe Absolom
Patron