A CHARITY is holding a garden party to mark the official reopening of its refurbished centre in Carlisle for adults with learning disabilities.
Carlisle Mencap’s California House Centre on California Road, Kingstown, has undergone a £200,000 extension and refurbishment. The city’s MP, John Stevenson, will perform the reopening ceremony during the garden party on the afternoon of Friday, July 12, in the grounds of California House.
First opened 23 years ago, California House provides respite care for adults. The purpose of the facility is to support guests who are having a short break from their family home, to enhance their independent living skills, and also their social and emotional skills. One of the main priorities is to support the client to become involved in community activities of their own choice.
Carlisle Mencap’s chief executive officer, Sheila Gregory, said: “California House is a vital facility, providing care for up to five adults at a time. This extension and refurbishment work means we can provide excellent, state-of-the-art facilities including a new sensory room with overhead projector and a fabulous kitchen/diner. We are very grateful to all those trusts, foundations, groups and businesses who helped fund this much-needed revamp and refurbishment. And we look forward to showing off the new-look California House on Friday.”
The garden party takes place from midday to 3pm. The outdoor area at California House received a ‘spring clean’ during the Give A Day To The City Week initiative when teams from Carlisle College and Gillford Centre in Upperby Road, Carlisle, spent a day cleaning up the pond and painting the fence, among other tasks, to get it into fine shape for the garden party and reopening ceremony.
Carlisle Mencap would like to thank the following for their financial support with regards the California House project: Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation, Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, Clothworkers Foundation, Cumbria County Council, Garfield Weston Foundation, Hadfield Trust, Key Fund, Newcastle Building Society and Wolfson Foundation.
