Testimonials
Testimonials
Please read below some testimonials about our consultancy work from Venus Training & Consultancy Limited, South West Homes, the Renaissance Residential Home and The Halow Project
Gwenda Beckley, South West Homes
As the Homebuy Agent for the South West of England we hold regular forums for our local authority and housing association partners. Gary has given a number of presentations on Supported Living and the move to offer clients more choice and independence in their housing options. His presentations are both entertaining and extremely informative and always received positive feedback.
Jesamine Adroit, Renaissance Residential Home
I am the owner and Manager of Renaissance Residential Home for people with learning disability. My husband and I have had the home for the last 15 years. It grew from nine service users to currently 17 registered users.
With the PEOPLE FIRST NOW policy, the introduction of personalisation and in control, we have been very worried with the future of our Home, especially when local policy is aiming to reduce residential beds for people with learning disabilities from 60% to 25%.
I heard about Gary Kent of Choice Control from one of my service user who attends the SPOT group. He is able to turn my nightmare into a dream. He gave us one to one sessions and team training session. He has a wealth of experience, and coupled with his positive altitude he is able to guide us to see and plan our future clearly. Step by step we are working towards providing services for supported living. We are eager and excited with the new venture. Instead of feeling doom and gloom, the whole home is working towards registering for domiciliary care and looking forward to support people integrating back into the community.
The Halow Project
The halow project was formed in 2006 by a group of parents, each of whom has a child with special needs and learning difficulties. Our vision was to establish a centre in Surrey to house residential, social and employment facilities. We found a suitable site and were developing our plans. We met Gary Kent in 2007 and very quickly realised that our vision didn’t quite match the most up to date thinking. Gary questioned our plans and helped us achieve a more appropriate strategy for our charity. We decided not to go ahead with the site and instead recruit a Project Director to lead the task we had set ourselves. Gary played an important role in the selection process, helping shortlist, interview and induct the new Project Director.
The halow project is going from strength to strength; we have opened an office/information hub in the centre of Guildford, are supporting over 40 young people in their dreams and aspirations and have recently won two bids to secure funding for this service.
Gary also supported halow to hold a conference in November 2008, to challenge the attitudes and thinking amongst social care providers and workers. He is part of a great network of individuals leading the way, in supporting people with a learning disability to achieve the lives they want.
More recently halow is working in partnership with Gary to support Surrey County Council to look at services and provision in the county and develop new and innovative ways of working.
Many, many thanks to Gary for his support and guidance throughout the last two years; his drive, inspiration and knowledge are second to none.
