New Highland centre will be haven for young people with complex care needs
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A CHARITABLE foundation set up by a Black Isle woman has revealed plans for Scotland’s first dedicated facility for children and young people with complex learning needs.
The project is being developed by the Elsie Normington Foundation, which has formed the Haven Project Appeal to raise £3.2 million over the next 18 months.
The foundation has already secured funding and donations of £400,000 for the Haven Centre on Murray Road, Smithton – a derelict site since a nursing home was burnt down in 2010.
It is envisaged the construction of the building will create 40 jobs and the operation of the centre will provide jobs for 19 full-time and 11 part-time workers and generate opportunities for volunteering.
Parents and professionals attended a drop-in exhibition at Drummond School – where many of the prospective users are currently based – on Thursday.
The driving force behind the Haven Centre is foundation chairwoman, Elsie Normington from North Kessock, a community development officer based at the Merkinch Community Centre.
Elsie has a 32-year-old son, Andrew, who has multiple complex needs.
She wrote a book entitled The Silent Door Bell, a story about coping with Andrew’s condition.
“It has long been my dream to deliver a centre that cares for the special needs of those children in the Highlands with multiple complex needs,” she said.
“I have every confidence that we can deliver this special project and realise our goal of giving those children in our community with multiple complex needs the chances in life that they so richly deserve.”
Featured in the main building will be a specialist play centre to be run by Direct Childcare and it will be linked to a community café, which will be run as a community enterprise.
The complex will also have an outdoor play centre and community garden, office space and meeting rooms which can be used for training and family support and by local community organisations.
Also to be built on the site will be the three respite apartments to be serviced by Key Community Supports.
The facilities will be available to children from birth to 19 and young people up to the age of 30 with high support needs that cannot be met within a mainstream environment.
The Highland Council, which has given the Elsie Normington Foundation a three-year option to purchase the land on Murray Road, has its own plans to build eight council homes on the remainder of the site.
Andy Grzesinski, chairman of the Haven Project Appeal, said: “I was totally inspired by the enthusiasm and drive of Elsie Normington and we now have a great team backing her vision for the Haven Centre.”
Fellow Black Isle resident David Alston, chairman of NHS Highland, said: “The Haven Centre is a shining example of the passion there is in our communities to provide support for all Highland children and their families.
“On a personal note, my mother was a resident of Culloden Court Nursing Home when it burnt down and it is inspiring to see the Haven Centre emerge from the ashes as a beacon for the future provision of compassionate care in the Highlands.”
