in hope
Jan/Apr 2024
This document was updated in 2024 to include our new logo. References inside the document include our old name, Livability as was correct at the time.
Welcome to our prayer diary
Dear friends
As we begin 2024, I’m sure many of us are praying for a brighter, more peaceful year than last year proved to be, at home and worldwide.
At Livability, we want to live in hope – for the children, young people and adults we support, and the services we provide.
In this edition of our Prayer Diary, we unpack some of the ways hope shines through our work in our school and colleges, our independent living services, our rehabilitation centres and our residential care homes.
The fact that hundreds of supporters pray for us, using this prayer diary, is in itself hope-giving and we thank you, as ever, for your support. This year, we celebrate our 180th anniversary, marking the year when Victorian campaigner and devout Christian Lord Shaftesbury set up the Ragged School Union, Livability’s forerunner.
For decades he persevered in his desire to see change for the poor in society, and we stand by his conviction that there is always hope in God, however difficult things are for us personally or for the world we live in.
Sally Chivers CEO
please make your hope shine ever more brightly in the daily lives of people we support, in our staff teams, our supporters and volunteers. Amen Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Rom 12:12
Watch
Join Elizabeth Harrison, Livability’s Chaplaincy Manager as we pray on hope this season and for the dreams of the people we support.
Dear God,
January Let’s pray
Dear Lord, we thank you for the privilege of providing children and young people with disabilities with an education that is tailored to their individual abilities and needs. We thank you for the hope that this brings the students and their families. Amen
Week 1
As the new year and new school term starts, we bring all the children and young people in our education centres to you and ask that you would give them and their families hope for their future. We particularly remember anyone who is struggling at school or college, and pray for a breakthrough for them. Amen
Week 2
Dear God, we pray for the children’s services we’re launching in north-east England this year. We ask for your blessing on these plans and on those who are staffing this service. We pray you would provide all the resources that are needed and that children’s lives would be changed as a result. Amen
Week 3
We pray for students at our schools and colleges as they start their new term. We ask that they may quickly feel part of the school family, make friends and enjoy learning. We pray for insight for staff as they get to know their new students. Amen
Why our work is needed
There is currently a chronic shortage of social service provision for children in the North East. Average caseloads for children's social workers in Newcastle jumped from 5.9 in August 2019 to 23.3 in August 2022, with services across the sector losing staff.* In response, Livability is about to launch its first children’s service in the North East.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englandtyne-63095465
Week 4
Lord, we pray for families who are coming to terms with challenges faced by their children with disabilities, whether in the areas of health, education or socially. We pray that being part of a Livability service will enable them to hope for the best for their child. Amen
Real life story
For children with autism and their parents, Livability Victoria’s new early years provision is a game-changer. For six-year-old Oliver and his parents Alba and Amyn, attending Victoria has meant Oliver has learned lifechanging communication skills. His concentration is improving because he can use aids like a trampoline, or sensory toys, to ‘reset’ when he needs a sensory break. His parents were used to receiving regular phone calls from Oliver’s previous placement, when he was unable to cope – but this hasn’t happened at all since Oliver joined Victoria. ‘Oliver’s come on in leaps and bounds at Victoria School,’ says dad Amyn. www.livability.org.uk/oliver
Our education centres provide hope to hundreds of disabled students and their families. Our highly experienced, dedicated staff support their pupils to work towards goals which often exceed the family’s expectations, and help the young person achieve their maximum potential as they approach adult life.
Please support Livability Education and donate online at livability.org.uk
February
Let’s pray
Lord, thank you for the huge potential of students at our special further education colleges. May their skills, confidence and wellbeing grow. Amen
Week 1
We pray for the provision of funding for disabled young people who wish to attend Livability Millie College or Livability Nash College. We ask that stretched local authorities will see the value of special education for each individual who is applying for funding. Amen
Week 2
Lord, we thank you that so much was achieved in Livability Millie College’s first year. We ask for the funding and resources to increase classroom space so we can meet the huge demand for special education in the Dorset area. Amen
Week 3
Dear God, please will you provide meaningful work experience and opportunities for students at Livability Nash College and Livability Millie College. We ask for more doors to open into work and the hope and confidence this instils in young disabled people.
Week 4
Thank you for our families. We pray for the families of children and young people at Victoria School and Millie College, as they spend half-term together. We pray especially for their siblings, for times to have fun and play. Be with them and give them courage when their family feels excluded Amen
Why our work is needed
Nearly one-third of parents of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities would not recommend their child’s mainstream secondary school to another parent. This is nearly double the rate for parents of pupils without SEN, at 15%. Inclusion in mainstream school does not work for all disabled students – Livability is there to provide a vital alternative.
Ofsted Parent View data used by Mencap www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disabilityexplained/research-and-statistics/ children-research-and-statistics
Support
Help Livability to expand facilities at Livability Millie College so more disabled young people can get the higher education they deserve.
Help Livability to provide the very best, enabling care. Please donate by phone: call 020 7452 2121
Real life story
Students and staff at Millie College, near Poole, welcomed a very special guest at the end of last year - HRH The Princess Royal, Livability’s patron. Walking round the extensive site, the princess chatted to many students about horticultural practice in the gardens and greenhouse, conservation activity and animal husbandry including four rescued goats, sheep and chickens.
A group of students showed off their cooking skills to the princess, who asked them about their favourite meals. The princess heard about the need for funds to create more classrooms – student intake has already doubled and more places are in demand.
Let’s pray
We thank you for the hope that is in evident every day in our services, as people with disabilities overcome barriers, progress in their therapy or rehabilitation, or try something new. Amen
Week 1
Thank you, Lord, for projects like OrchLab, which opened up opportunities for people we support to express themselves through accessible music-making. We pray for all creative endeavours happening in our services, that they will bring joy and hope to people in our care. Amen
Visit www.livability/orchlab
Week 2
We pray for people like Gerald, attending our brain injury rehabilitation service, Livability Icanho. We ask for hope and resilience for each person, as they work towards their goals and a new post-injury life. Amen
Read Gerald’s story livability/lifechanged
Week 3
Lord, we thank you for the friendships that are being formed by a new pen-pal scheme between people at two of our services. We ask that more people we support will join in and find new friends. Amen
Week 4
Thank you Lord that so many people were encouraged and given hope by Laura’s story, featured in our recent campaign. We pray that Laura and others like her will reach even wider audiences with their message of hope after a traumatic brain injury. Amen
Find Laura’s story www.livability.org.uk/lor
Why our work is needed
Every 90 seconds, someone is admitted to a UK hospital with a brain injury*. Men are 16 times more likely to be admitted than women. Livability Icanho and our specialist residential nursing homes enable people to regain life skills and rebuild a new life.
*Headway 2020
Real
life story
Kerry made a major life change when she moved from her family home, leaving her mum, to a Livability residential care setting at Dolphin Court. She struggled to settle but now enjoys life and has hope for the future.
‘I know I can have the independence here that I wouldn’t have had once upon a time and that I can do things that I didn’t think I could do. I never used to go out for walks on my own, for instance. Staff have helped me gain confidence and went out with me at first. And I threw myself into it – I think “right, I’m going to do it”, and then I do it!’
Help us to provide specialised rehabilitation services in the years to come. Call Michelle on 020 7452 2099 to find out how you can remember Livability’s work in your will or visit
www.livability.org.uk/ giftinwills
April
Let’s pray
We pray for the people we support who are involved in disability campaigning. Please empower them and bring about change through what they do. Amen
Week 1
We pray that the archbishops’ joint commission on recent commission on social care will bring about change for better, more affordable care for everyone who requires care, including people with disabilities. Amen
Read about Livability’s input www.livability.org.uk/carereimagined
Week 2
Dear God, we ask you would augment the impact of Livability services on society, as a ‘city built on a hill’ in the way they support and enable people with disabilities to live well and to contribute meaningfully to their community. Amen
Week 3
Lord, we ask you would give hope to all organisations and individuals who are striving to create a better, fairer world for those with disabilities. We ask for significant change in the way disabled people are viewed and treated. Amen
Week 4
Lord Jesus, thank you that we are always growing and changing, even as adults. Making changes in our lives is difficult, and we can feel frustrated when things take a long time. We pray that you would strengthen us to keep hoping for change and keep striving to live well, even when we face barriers. Amen
Why our work matters
Nearly half - 41% - of working age, disabled people don’t feel valued by society. One-third experience prejudice in their day-to-day lives, and twothirds say they have stopped doing something in the past year because of other people’s attitudes. www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/ independent-confident-connected/
Real life story
Livability’s Chaplaincy Manager Elizabeth Harrison works across Livability’s services to support people’s spiritual lives and the shared expression of our Christian ethos. Our weekly online prayer circle prays in turn for each of our residential and education services and national staff teams, with people from each service sending in their prayer requests. One person who lives at Livability South East wrote this prayer for peace:
Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, we pray in hope that you would bring peace in the world. We ask there would be no more killings, so the whole world can breathe and relax. God, please heal the world.
Amen
To join the prayer circle on Mondays at 11.30am, email prayercircle@livability.org.uk. We'd love to welcome you to the group.
Please support us so we can continue to provide the best possible services: donate online at www.livability.org.uk/ donate
About Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is the disability charity that enables each child, young person and adult to live a life that adds up for them.
What makes life add up is different for everyone. It’s the sum of many things and many people - from friendship to fun; from companionship to community; from a great chat to a challenge overcome.
‘All together better for disability’ means working with the people we support, promoting inclusion, independence and opportunity.
All together we are better; it’s why we work to see people take part, contribute and be valued. We do this through our wide range of disability care, special education and rehabilitation services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Email: info@shaftesburygroup.org
www.shaftesburygroup.org
Shaftesbury is the operating name of Livability which is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee in England and Wales. Charity No: 1116530 and Company No: 5967087.