Livability is a national disability charity based in the UK and is the country's largest Christian

disability charity Disability organizations Disabled people Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developme ...

. The charity was formed in 2007 after a merger between the Shaftesbury Society and John Grooms. The

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...

, became President of the organization in 2013 and the previous Archbishop of Canterbury,

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, was its vice-president.

History

Wednesbury Museum - 2016-11-30 - Andy Mabbett - 05 CROP

John Alfred Groom was a Victorian philanthropist who founded the Watercress and Flower Girls' Christian Mission (later "John Groom's Cripplegate and Flower Girls' Mission"), in 1866. In 1872 the social reformer

Lord Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...

established the Emily Loan Fund to enable young women flower sellers to support themselves. Later, in 1914, the Ragged School Union merged into the Shaftesbury Society, becoming fully subsumed under the title of the Shaftesbury Society in 1944. In 2007, the two charities merged and combined their experience in care, education and employment support to create the disability charity Livability.

Services

Livability provides a number of services for disabled people across the country. These include education services such as school and colleges, care homes, specialist rehabilitation services, holidays for disabled people, employment advice and training courses. Livability also works with entrepreneurs to acquire the skills necessary to run a business. They provide workshops and training courses which cover business planning, book-keeping and marketing. In December 2014 Livability acquired Holton Lee in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

- now Livability Holton Lee. Livability Holton Lee is a large, predominantly outdoor area which is to be used for accessible holidays as well as being a venue for weddings and art exhibitions.

Community engagement and church work

Livability’s community engagement team supports churches and Christian projects in disadvantaged urban areas by running courses providing resources, practical support and training courses. In 2015 Livability worked with the Christian charity Mind and Soul to produce the Mental Health Access Pack. The Mental Health Access Pack is an online resource created to help church leaders make their churches fully accessible to people with mental health issues. Katharine Welby-Roberts, the daughter of Archbishop Justin Welby and ex-Livability employee, helped to launch the Pack. In an interview in January 2015 she said: "Churches have a responsibility to welcome everyone who comes to them in Christ's name, but the reality is that they don't always know how best to support people who are struggling with mental health issues. The Mental Health Access Pack will help equip churches to make God's love more visible in the welcome they offer to every person."

Patrons

Notable patrons and supporters of Livability include:

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

(Patron);

(President);

Valerie Howarth Valerie Georgina Howarth, Baroness Howarth of Breckland, (born 5 September 1940) is a British politician and a member of the House of Lords, sitting as a crossbencher. She was made an OBE in the 1999 Birthday Honours, she was created a life pee ...

(Senior Vice President and Trustee);

Esther Rantzen Dame Esther Louise Rantzen (born 22 June 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, who presented the BBC television series ''That's Life!'' for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994. She works with various charitable causes, and foun ...

(Vice President); and

Pam Rhodes Pam Rhodes (born 22 September 1950) is an English television, radio presenter and author, known for presenting BBC Television's long-running religious series ''Songs of Praise'' since the early 1980s. Early life Rhodes was born in Gillingham, Kent ...

(Vice President).

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

has also attended events in support of Livability.

References

{{Authority control 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom Christian charities based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2007