Who We Are?
Our Mission & Vision
Our mission is to enable people with additional needs to achieve “Independence” Independence Project is on a mission to highlight the difficulties that young adults face and strives to make a difference to the lives of people and their families across Essex. We are passionate about helping young people transitioning into adulthood life and further beyond. We feel that there is currently a huge crisis in this area and many young people are being overlooked or left behind needlessly.
How do we do this?
We take a modern forward thinking approach by reaching out to communities offering support and advice at many different levels. We are very active on social media and this helps us bring awareness of our services and the difference that we make, whilst also highlighting the bigger issues in society.
We also believe that the only way we can tackle this crisis is by working in partnership with other organisations and sharing information. We achieve this in many ways by attending community events and through our online community. We are always at the end of a phone to help offer guidance and support or to signpost to other organisations that can help.
We offer a full personalised programme of activities to engage young people within a fun safe and nurturing environment whilst achieving goals. Our training programs are carried out with a person centred fully holistic approach to meet the needs of each individual.
Many young people who have additional needs require training programs that are specifically targeted and tailored to the way that they learn and retain information to help them achieve the best outcomes.
We provide a consistent approach which in turn provides for optimum development and offers a huge amount of confidence building. We take time to get to know the people we work with and build relationships with the individual and their family/carers. Our staff have worked with many young people across Essex who have a wide variety of needs and have built up extensive experience within this field and know how to get the best results from the individual.
Our training programs can become integrated alongside more traditional methods to provide the individual with a balanced learning experience, or work equally as effective on their own. Independence always runs through the core of our programs and we always aim to get the individual to a place where they can live as a fulfilled, independent and happy adult.
Meet the Team
Andrew Denny
Founder
“Having worked with young adults with additional needs for a number of years I could see the areas where society is failing in supporting these individuals. I am a strong believer in empowering people and pushing them to achieve in life, whilst fighting and advocating for their rights. I am extremely passionate about making a change within society and not allowing people to be left behind. We give people Independence and support individuals to build a social network around them, provide them with the choice to live their lives how they want to whilst also learning valuable skills along the way. I am very proud and excited to be involved in this journey.”
Tracy Frost
Personal Assistant
“When my girls were young I decided to complete a degree in Health and Social Care at the time I was unsure of the career I wanted to pursue, this opened my eyes to wanting to care for people! I began my career working in a school for children with additional needs, I spent 5 years there which then led me into working with young adults. I absolutely love what we do at the Independence Project and thrive on seeing the young people we work with being able to achieve their independence, with a little encouragement and support they really are beginning to see what their future holds for them.”
Olivia Moss
Personal Assistant
“I have worked with children and young adults with additional needs since completing my A level studies at college. Initially I undertook an apprenticeship whilst working for a charity which supported 12-18 year olds, then worked at a school for students with severe and complex learning difficulties before starting work at the Independence Project. I thoroughly enjoy my work and am strongly committed to enabling everyone to experience a full range of life experiences and reach their full potential.”
Aishah Lewis
Apprentice
“When I left school I studied Health and Social Care in college which lead to me gaining an A level. I really enjoyed learning about Health and Social Care and the different services. I then started work in adult services in a residential care home.
I started to focus on what age group I wanted to work with, which led me into becoming interested in supporting younger age groups. When an apprenticeship opportunity arose at Independence Project, I jumped at it and was lucky enough to be given the chance to join the team as an apprentice.”
What our members have to say
