COMMUNITY GROUP: Working hard to help others

The Down Syndrome Training and Support Service provides vital help for parents of children who have Down Syndrome in Bradford.

The Bingley-based service carries out home visits, over the phone support, regular activities and events and summer trips for families.

Parents and school staff can also receive training on how to work with Down Syndrome children, and the group also presents assemblies to raise awareness of the condition.

Mary Uttley said the group “always gives 110 per cent” to support families.

She said: “They make families feel welcome and part of one big family, especially in the early days when some parents can be struggling to accept their child has been born with a learning disability.

“They bring a bit of normality and a lot of support, and most of the workers are parents of children with Down Syndrome so they know and understand how others are feeling and this makes a big difference.”

The group runs weekly youth clubs for teenagers with Down Syndrome, which allows them to meet new people, make friends and socialise, as well as its family support sessions and extensive training sessions.

Friends of the Deceased is a group of volunteers who have carried out extensive clean-ups of Scholemoor Cemetery in Bradford throughout the year.

The cemetery has been blighted by littering and flytipping, and hundred of volunteers visited the cemetery in Lidget Green on three occasions to clear away rubbish and carrying out maintenance work.

Mohammed Taj, Bradford South area coordinator for Bradford Council, praised the group’s founders Adil Shaan and Saeed Younis for their hard work.

He said: “They are regular visitors to the cemetery and we are concerned at the increasing amount of litter and vegetation.

“They decided to take positive action to ensure visitors to the cemetery had a pleasant and peaceful experience and that all graves and the surrounding areas are cared for.

“They have spent countless hours contacting business and residents to support these clean-ups, and businesses have donated skips for the removal of waste, equipment, gloves, refreshments for the volunteers on the clean-up days.

“After the clean-ups finished they distributed the surplus food to homeless people around the city centre.”

My Taj added the two men are now planning on setting up a charity to carry on the work, and hopefully expand it to more cemeteries in the city.

Based on the Ravenscliffe estate, Parent Power is a group of parents who have come together to build relationships and hold events for the community over the last 12 months.

The group is made up of women from British, African and Polish backgrounds who have worked to bring their community together and offer opportunities to some of the area’s most disadvantaged young people.

Julie Longden, who works with Parent Power, said: “I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of these women and what they have pulled off in the last year.

“The group worked tirelessly talking to parents on the estates and including the whole community in the decision making process of how to use our funding to meet the real needs of the community.”

Parent Power set up a karate club for young people in the area which has more than 40 registered members.

Ms Longden added: “These women are a model of how to really make a difference and develop sustainable grassroots projects that change local people’s lives.

“They are inspiring people to get involved and make a difference in the community, and their commitment and dedication is giving hope to young people on the estate.”

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