Using ice cream to help residents with learning disabilities into work
The Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan, and Cllr Chris Best, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, with Nick and Chris from Ignition Brewery
They joined the Mayor and Cabinet Members yesterday evening for the launch of the new Adult Learning Disability Strategy, and shared a taste of the ice cream they are planning to launch next year, with support from the Council.
The Adult Learning Disability Strategy aims to enhance the opportunities available for people with learning disabilities, including employment pathways, access to community services for wellbeing support and learning and development to build life skills and promote independence.
The Council wants people with learning disabilities to live long, healthy and happy lives, with the maximum possible independence and currently supports 375 people each year within Lewisham. The strategy focuses on three main pathways: wellbeing, independence and employment.
Employment is key to this but in the UK, currently only 7.7% of service users with a learning disability and receiving long term support are in paid employment (ASCOF 2019/20).
Lewisham Council is leading the way in terms of championing employment for people with learning disabilities, working hard to find opportunities within local organisations to encourage employment - this includes finding opportunities within our own Council services, delivering a supported internship programme with Lewisham College in 2022 and working with a range of partners including parents, charities, colleges, day centres and youth hubs.
Ignition Brewery has been supported by Lewisham Council, providing space for them in the Sydenham Centre for their brewery and tap room. Ignition Ice is operating from the kitchens of another Council-owned building, the Ladywell Centre. Ignition will be using funding from the Council’s borough-wide NCIL fund - in partnership with Lewisham Mencap - to secure more employment opportunities for local residents with learning disabilities.
The Strategy was approved yesterday evening at the meeting of Mayor and Cabinet.
Cllr Chris Best, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said:
“We urgently need to increase the number of people with learning disabilities in employment. This strategy shows our council’s commitment and determination to support them into paid employment where they can utilise their considerable talents and potential.
“We are working hard to find work opportunities internally within the Council and Ignition Ice is a fantastic example of our partnership work locally. Working together with sustainable and innovative companies that strive to provide work opportunities for those with learning disabilities is a key priority for us. It is lovely to sample these wonderful new flavours of ice cream and we are really looking forward to working with Ignition Ice next year.”
Nick O’Shea, Director of Ignition Brewery, said:
“Lewisham is definitely a borough where people can be enterprising and we are completely behind Lewisham Council’s positive approach towards learning disabilities with employment at the very heart of their new strategy. Ignition Brewery is a very successful example of how this can work and we hope that ice cream will be next! We want to create great jobs and great products and feel that the Council are very supportive partners.”