GOLD (Getting On with Learning Difficulties) has spent over a decade supporting people with a learning difficulty in Thanet to build confidence, gain independence and take part in their communities in ways that work for them. After 11 years, the programme has now come to an end.
GOLD was created to support people with a learning difficulty, who live in Thanet and receive less than 5 hours statutory support per week. The service aimed to support people to live more independently, stay connected to their communities and feel more confident navigating everyday life.
GOLD has provided flexible and confidential 1-to-1 support shaped around individual need. This often meant helping people access and understand information around benefits, housing and health, and making – often complex and inaccessible – systems feel more manageable. Alongside this, group work and community activity helped reduce isolation, build friendships and create stronger links into community life.
Fiona Wonford, GOLD Delivery Manager, said: “Our job here, as a team, was to support people to reach their goals and to understand that every individual is different. What works for you might not work for somebody else, and that’s okay.”
“We encouraged people to stop using the words ‘I can’t’, because you can. We all can find a different way but, we can reach our goals.”
This approach underpinned everything GOLD did, focusing not just on access to support, but on confidence, independence and recognising personal value.
Impact and achievements
GOLD has supported a wide range of outcomes across Thanet, from increased independence to education, employment and advocacy opportunities. In the last three years alone, GOLD has:
- Helped over 100 people with a learning difficulty in Kent
- Successfully supported 5 PIP tribunals resulting in backdated payments being awarded
- Supported 2 people into paid employment
- Helped 14 people access regular voluntary work
This includes people moving into charity shop roles, taking part in co-research work with the University of Kent Tizard Centre, and contributing to training sessions with Canterbury Christ Church University for nurses and doctors.
Behind these outcomes are individual stories of growing confidence, improved communication skills and greater independence in everyday life.
The ScrapStore
A key part of GOLD’s wider impact has been The ScrapStore @ East Kent Mencap.
The ScrapStore helps reduce waste by collecting and reselling reusable creative materials, making them available to the community for a donation. This often means very affordable prices for the local community.
It is run by members of GOLD alongside staff and volunteers.
It provides practical experience in areas such as customer service, stock management and using tills and card machines, while also creating everyday opportunities for connection between members of the public and people with a learning difficulty.
This contact plays an important role in reducing stigma and building understanding through shared experience rather than awareness alone.
“Our community has become so vitally important, and that’s happened through The ScrapStore.” - Fiona
Life after GOLD
Although GOLD is coming to an end after 11 years, many of the groups and opportunities it created are continuing in new and independent ways.
Craft and Chat at Ramsgate Library continues as a member-led group, alongside an independently run book club. Weekly informal meet-ups at Wetherspoons are also continuing, alongside ongoing outreach support for those who still need it.
Some members are now taking on more independent roles, including volunteering and mentoring through community activities such as The ScrapStore.
While GOLD as a service is ending, its impact continues through the relationships, confidence and independence it has helped to build across the community.
GOLD was funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund – we have been extremely grateful for the opportunities and impact brought by this funding.
GOLD was funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund.
We have been extremely grateful for the opportunities and impact brought by this funding.
