To help mark Social Enterprise Day yesterday, Paul Burstow, Care Services Minister, visited CHUMS, a child bereavement, trauma and emotional well-being service in Luton. He met with CHUMS Chief Executive Dawn Hewitt and her team, as well as a number of their service users and volunteers. The minister had the opportunity to see first hand how becoming a social enterprise has improved the way in which the services they provide are being delivered to NHS patients.
Reflecting on the visit, Paul Burstow said “CHUMS run an extraordinary bereavement service for children and young people. It helps families put their lives back together and to have hope for the future. I visited to mark Social Enterprise Day and congratulate Dawn and her team on becoming a social enterprise, I came away inspired.”
Despite only operating as an independent provider since 1 June 2011, CHUMS has already successfully bid for two new contracts, which means their team will double in size by the end of December, and they have also been able to recruit more volunteers to help support their clinical work.
Also in recognition of Social Enterprise Day, and in another example of how social enterprises are helping lead the way in developing new and innovative ways of delivering health and care services, Scott Darraugh, founder and Chief Executive of Social adVentures has been named as one of the Future 100 Awards Young Social Entrepreneurs of the Year. Social adVentures is a thriving social enterprise jointly owned by service users, staff and local Salford people. Its aim is to inspire local people to lead happier and healthier lives. Services range from healthy cooking classes to crisis management psychological sessions. The team work with some of the city’s most hard to reach groups including elderly people with learning difficulties, asylum seekers and refugees, drug and alcohol users and people suffering from mental health issues.