Partners
The Disability Resource Centre has an outstanding record of supplying high quality information, advice and support services to disabled people in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes over the past 30+ years.
Along with our partners, we deliver:
- Advice and information services to disabled people and their families
- Advice and information services to carers of disabled people
- Support under our Direct Payments services
- Support to enable disabled people to work
- Improving health, learning and work opportunities
- Fitness and wellbeing programmes
Partner News
We attended a Men’s Health Awareness event in Dunstable
Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire hosted the Men’s Health Awareness event in partnership with Chiltern Hills PCN. The Disability Resource Centre was one of over 20 organisations at the event.
We received excellent feedback from participants of our Employer Academy event
90% of the people that attended the event thought it was beneficial and inspiring. It was an exciting collaboration between The Disability Resource Centre and University of Bedfordshire Employer Academy.
New Partners
We welcome the opportunity to work with new funding partners, supply partners and customers.
Dunstable Town FC
We are delighted to be working in partnership with Dunstable Town Football Club.
Dunstable Town FC Chair, Andrew Madaras said;
“We are hugely excited to be working with Mel, Lynda and all of their colleagues at The Disability Resource Centre. We know there is a demand for the type of group activities that we can provide. It’s been an exciting project to put together. We hope we can do justice and repay some of the faith that The Disability Resource Centre has trusted us with”
Melanie Hawman, CEO of The Disability Resource Centre said:
“We are delighted to have been asked to work with Andrew and his team on some very exciting projects. We both feel our combined strengths and areas of expertise will benefit the local community immensely. Together we can make a real difference to reducing health inequalities, increasing social inclusion and most of all, putting support and friendship at the heart of what we do”
Read the announcement of our partnership on the Dunstable Town FC website.
Skills for Care
The Social Care Sector Skills Agency, Skills for Care, are one of The Disability Resource Centre’s funding partners. We work closely with them to assure that the wealth of educational and training resources they produce are provided free of charge to both aspiring and experienced Personal Assistants. This in turn benefits our service users, who are individual employers, by providing qualified support workers. It adds value to the other services that we provide on behalf of local authorities, which ensure the smooth facilitation of Direct Payments.
As we continue to grow our Direct Payments offer, we are bringing in other partners to join in and grow the service that we provide to service users, local authority partners.
Recently we created a project using existing funding streams between Skills for Care, DWP and unemployed residents of Luton and Dunstable. We were delighted when we were invited to present this at a Skills for Care link-up event, which encourages partnership working to produce results for individual employers.
If your organisation would like more information about working in partnership with The Disability Resource Centre then please contact: Melanie Hawman, CEO on 01582 470900 or email: melanie.hawman@drcbeds.org.uk
Advice
We work collectively with advice partners in the local area to provide a collaborative approach to support local residents. The Disability Resource Centre is part of a number of advice groups including Bedfordshire Advice Forum and Luton Advice Network. It represents service users on the number of groups including Carers Lead Group, Joint Older People’s Forum, Luton Airport passenger group and Equality Board.
We are working with Bedfordshire Police as one of their third-party Hate Crime Reporting Centres.
We are looking for new partners
If your organisation would like more information about working in partnership with The Disability Resource Centre then please contact Clare Copleston, Operations Manager on 01582 470900 or Clare.Copleston@drcbeds.org.uk
Funding partners:
- Luton Council
- BLMK CCG
- Skills For Care
- Bedford Borough Council
- Central Bedfordshire Council
Associated Partners
We have a supply chain network that includes charities, training companies and colleges. For our supply chain partners we offer excellent management; resources including training and marketing and a partnership culture of collaboration and cooperation.
- Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue
- Bedfordshire Police
- Member of Disability Rights UK
- Hey Jude Fitness
Corporate Social Responsibility
We are keen to work in partnership with companies fulfilling their Corporate Social Responsibility roles, and companies offering us charitable rates for their work.
Please contact Clare Copleston, Operations Manager on 01582 470900 or email Clare.Copleston@drcbeds.org.uk
Thank you for supporting our charity.
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Email: info@drcbeds.org.uk
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Our 30 years celebration curry night raised over £700 for our charity
Thanks to amazing support and generous donations, we raised over £700. These funds will go directly towards providing vital services for people with disabilities and health conditions in our community.
We attended a Men’s Health Awareness event in Dunstable
Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire hosted the Men’s Health Awareness event in partnership with Chiltern Hills PCN. The Disability Resource Centre was one of over 20 organisations at the event.
MSK ActiveWell: A new and free musculoskeletal condition support programme
If you are struggling with a musculoskeletal condition, feeling stuck on waiting lists, and unsure of how to manage your pain, and regain control of your life, then our new MSK ActiveWell programme could be the answer. Within a week of joining, you’ll start your wellbeing journey, designed specifically for your needs, guided by our qualified Health and Wellbeing Practitioner.
Mental health matters: A guide, case study and local links for people living with a disability
Living with a disability can impact mental wellbeing and our article highlights 3 key things that may help. Read how Rebecca ‘mustered the courage to seek help’ and is now encouraging others, saying ‘seeking help is a sign of strength’. At the end we include details and local links to mental health support services in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes.
Please donate second-hand wheelchairs, tri-walkers, rollators to our charity
Our charity needs more equipment to sell in our shop at the Mayfield Centre in Dunstable. Please donate wheelchairs, rollators/walkers, rise and recliner chairs, walking sticks, mobility scooters and more.
Your open door to advice in Central Bedfordshire
AdviceCentral helps residents of Central Bedfordshire to find the best local and national advice on a wide range of topics including:
Help for carers in Luton
We offer lots of free 1-2-1 help and advice by phone, email and online meetups.
