35th Anniversary Celebrated at House of Lords

On the 30^th April Local Solutions celebrated its 35^th Anniversary at an event held at the House of Lords.

Over 135 guests attended to mark this incredible achievement including Civic Heads, members of Parliament, key councillors, representatives from the public, private and voluntary sectors, members of the church and funding partners.

Vice president of the organisation, Professor the Lord Alton of Liverpool welcomed guests; following this, Chief Executive Stephen Hawkins gave a brief history about the organisation outlining the invaluable work undertaken throughout the North West.

Service user, Maureen Keeley, gave an emotional account about her life as an unpaid carer looking after her daughter with mental health problems. Maureen was in desperate need of support and was finding it hard to cope until she was referred to the Local Solutions Carers project and found that there was light at the end of the tunnel. She now regularly accesses a range of activities at the Carers Centre and now has a second chance in life.

Guests then heard a touching story from Liliane Mutesi, a refugee from Rwanda. Liliane lost family members through the genocide in Rwanda and was forced to flee the country.  She arrived in Liverpool homeless, isolated and desperately seeking refuge. Liliane was referred to Homeground, the hostel for young homeless people in Scotland Road, where she received a whole host of support.  Liliane gave an account of how she received encouragement and support to begin a new life. She was provided with support to pursue her education and is now employed as a Care Support Worker.

In the closing speech, Chairman Robert Owen thanked partners and commissioners for their long standing support and also paid tribute to the dedication of staff who give a high level of service to vulnerable people in need enabling the company to reach the status it has today. All in all, it proved to be a very moving day commemorating the good work that Local Solutions have done over the years to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged people.