Brandon Trust

Not to be confused with Brandon Trost.

Brandon Trust logo

Brandon Trust is a United Kingdom charitable organisation working with and for people with learning disabilities.

Profile

Brandon Trust is a charity which supports people with a learning disability to live the lives they choose. Brandon Trust offers a wide range of services: Supported living, Education, Work, Learning and Leisure, plus various types of registered Residential Services. Services are currently focused in London and the South West of England; Cornwall, Plymouth, North Somerset, Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, Wiltshire, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire. Brandon Trust has no 'parent or associated' companies however the charity works with a number of Housing associations including Advance, Western Challenge, Golden Lane and North Somerset Housing. The registered head office is in Patchway, Bristol.

Using person-centred approaches, Brandon Trust aims to identify the needs of each individual and deliver bespoke support, as each individual is unique with his/her own story. With the right kind of support people can experience a positive and rewarding life.

Brandon Trust has a substantial national profile and contributes regularly to Third Sector media including Community Care, Learning Disability Today and Community Connecting. Lucy Hurst-Brown (Chief Executive) is a trustee of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG).

Brandon Trust's expertise is sought in sector-wide consultation events. Brandon Trust has contributed to and been involved with, for example:

• Life in the Community Project by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
• A Joint House of Commons & House of Lords Committee Report on Human Rights: A Life Like Any Other - Human Rights of Adults with Learning Disabilities (2008)
• Valuing People Now

Brandon Trust has also been the subject of a number of case studies including:

• Personalisation: On the Edge of an Innovation by Sarah Thelwall, published by the Innovation Unit
• Personalising Care: A Route Map to Delivery for Care Providers, published by the English Community Care Association
• Employer and Community Innovation Case Study by the University of the West of England (U.W.E)
• Gain Without Pain: How the Voluntary Sector Can Help Deliver the Social Care Agenda for People with Disabilities by the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group

Special Interest Groups (SIG)

Within Brandon Trust there are a number of Special Interest Groups which provide specialist knowledge and support in the following areas:

• Autism
• Assistive technology
• Supported Living
• Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities
• Employment
• Transforming Residential Care

History

Brandon Trust was formed in 1994 by the merger of the Buttress Trust with the South Avon Housing Association. In April 2000 Spectrum Day Services, previously part of the NHS, was transferred to Brandon Trust. Six years later the charity secured an innovative contract with the Gloucestershire Partnership. The following year, in 2007, Brandon began work in Cornwall, supporting over 90 adults with learning disabilities, all brokered on individual budgets. Its London operations started in November 2012 as part of a full merger with not-for-profit organisation Odyssey Care.

External links

• Brandon Trust
• Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
• UWE Helps Learning Disability Charity Brandon Trust. (Press Release Issue Date 28 February 2007)
• Valuing People Now
• English Community Care Association
• Learning Disability Today
• Advance Housing
• Western Challenge
• Golden Lane Housing
• North Somerset Housing