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About Us
Headway Coventry & Warwickshire is a new group that has been set up by the registered charity Headway Birmingham & Solihull. There are currently no services in Coventry and Warwickshire, and so we were asked to look at starting a new group, as we have many years experience behind us which will be a big help when trying to get the new Headway group off the ground.
We currently have very little funding and so we are reaching out to make contacts and find new supporters. We are keen to work with people to ensure their needs help shape the future development of Headway Coventry & Warwickshire. We have considered carefully whether to set up as a separate new charity or work in partnership with Headway Birmingham & Solihull (HBS), and having considered all the pros and cons, decided that working in partnership with HBS was the stronger option as the trustees, governance, structures and experience are all in place already and available to support the new group.
About Headway Birmingham & Solihull
Headway Birmingham & Solihull is a local Headway group which has grown considerably over the years and has a working model of service delivery that supports over 2,000 carers and brain injured people a year. It is a Registered Charity operated as a Company Limited by Guarantee.
The story began in 1983 when Headway Birmingham & Solihull was officially registered as a support group for head injured people and their carers. For several years, the group met for one evening every month at a few different venues, providing the opportunity for head injured people and their carers to meet and discuss problems, share information and get practical and emotional support. Many hours of support was provided via the telephone in those days. In 1991, the trustees and supporters had raised enough money to lease a bungalow within the grounds of Moseley Hall Hospital and adapt it to suit the needs of disabled people. In 1992, the structure of the group was formalised through: a) registering as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee, and b) registering as a Charity. In 1996, our Headway House accommodation was almost doubled through the building of an extension in order for us to continue to meet rising demand for places.
In 2000, we were successful with a bid for a 3-year grant from Birmingham City Council to extend our services to carers. In the same year, head injury was changed to include all people with acquired brain injury. By 2002, we had raised enough funds to purchase our first minibus, enabling us to help our users access activities in the community, many for the first time following their brain injury. A full time Chief Executive was also appointed at this time and a new governance structure introduced, including changes in job titles.
In 2007, we purchased and refurbished our Leighton House hub (pictured above), which is named in memory of our founder, Stafford Leighton, who passed away in 1999. “Staff” as he was widely known, was for over 20-years, a dedicated and successful champion of improved and innovative services for victims of brain injury – an example which we still aspire to follow. Accordingly, these premises not only accommodate our core services for individuals with acquired brain injury, but also constitute vital resources and the hub of our expanding range of additional services – which increasingly involve work out in the community supporting families, carers and clients through the stages of hospital and home.
2016 saw the addition of a new annexe building in the car park at Leighton House (known as The Woodlands) to help meet the continual growth and demand for services.
In 2019, we acquired our third brain injury hub in Sutton Coldfield in order to reach people on the north side of Birmingham.
We also have a charity shop in Great Barr which first opened in 2006. It recently moved to the unit next door as it offered a larger, lighter shopping experience and continues to help raise vital funds towards our local brain injury services.
Headway Birmingham & Solihull services have continued to grow steadily and we now employ over 90 trained, paid staff, backed by a team of 50 plus voluntary helpers. We provide many programmes and activities through our ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) Services and have a strong Family and Carers Service, as well as many developing services in the community. We are now providing support to over 2,000 people each year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON Headway Birmingham & Solihull - CLICK HERE
