For people with learning disabilities and their families
About Us
Centre 404 was founded in 1951 by carers of children with learning disabilities and continues to work towards building a community and a society where people with learning disabilities are valued. Over the years Centre 404 has built vital services within the borough of Islington that have enabled children and adults with a learning disability and their carers to have a voice and to access community activities and support.
Centre 404 Annual Report 08-09
Services
Our services include a Family Support team that work with families and carers to reduce isolation and provide information and advocacy. The team can offer support to carers of children with a disability, young adults with a learning disability going through transition from child to adult services, and older carers of adults with a learning disability.
Our Learning and Leisure team provide a variety of daily clubs and activities for children and adults with a learning disability and their siblings. These include social, creative and physical activities at our centre and within the local community. We also provide seasonal clubs and play schemes for school aged children and a weekly Friday night social event for adults over the age of 18.
We provide Supported Housing services to 20 adults across 6 projects within Islington. This service supports tenants with a range of learning disabilities to be present, active and responsible citizens within their community, by promoting individuality and by offering support to increase independence and access to community services and activities.
We can also offer Individual Support Services if you have a direct payment or a personal budget. We can provide you with a personal support worker to help you achieve the things you want in life.
Staff
Susan Pearson – Chair of Trustees
Linda McGowan - Chief Executive
Bob Dowd - Family Support Manager
James Humber – Learning and Leisure Manager
Claire Curtis – Housing Support Manager
Amy Curtis – Resources Manager
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Our History
Centre 404 has a long history of innovation and enthusiasm for developing new and relevant services for people with learning disabilities and their families. We were founded in 1951 by a group of carers who met monthly to promote the well being of their children, and to fight for improvements in provision for their children and other families like them.
In the 1960’s, the group set up clubs for people with learning disabilities run by volunteers in different places in the borough and became Islington Mencap. These clubs provided opportunities for people to do new things, challenging the notion that people with learning disabilities were "uneducable". The clubs became an important way for people with learning disabilities and their families and carers to socialise and make friends.
For several decades the organisation was run by a group of highly dedicated volunteers. During this time, one of the parent founders and a successful businesswoman bought the Victorian building at 404 Camden Road. A team of volunteers continued to offer support by visiting families in their homes. Parents met at 404 Camden Road to socialise and learn how to help their children develop their potential. It was not until 1999 that we appointed our first paid Director.
From the early days parents got together to campaign for rights and services and we developed the first nursery in Islington that worked directly with children with learning disabilities. Finally, in the 1970s, education for disabled children and children with learning disabilities became a right. Parents in Islington started campaigning for local supported housing provision and in the 1980s we set up the first supported house in Islington for people with learning disabilities. We now support 20 tenants across 6 different projects.
Over the last fifteen years our family support team has expanded their services and we now offer a comprehensive information, advice and advocacy support service to families throughout all stages of their lives and the lives of their children. This service is a vital source of support for family carers who often have little knowledge of their welfare rights. Social events such as family fun days and outings are always oversubscribed and we also offer training for parents and professionals alike.
In the 1990s we extended our Learning and Leisure Service to provide additional social, educational and recreational activities for adults and children with learning disabilities, we now offer 11 group activity sessions ranging from after school activities to our Men’s group and a Friday night social club at our centre.
The rapid expansion of clubs and activities over the last twenty years has been very successful but has put heavy demands on our building. We are now at the point where we need to undertake a complete refurbishment in order to improve our current activity and secure the future of our Centre. Our Build Our Future Campaign has been launched and is raising funds to enable this essential work to get started.
