Glebe House – Friends Therapeutic Community Trust. Underpinned by 50 years successful provision of therapeutic care, Glebe House offers an emotionally secure and monitored environment, which supports adolescent males who are at risk (emotionally and physically) to themselves, to children, to their families and to the wider community.
Following a period of discernment over several months, Southern East Anglia Quaker Meeting (SEAQM) united behind the proposal, brought initially by Friends of Colchester Meeting, to support the work of Glebe House with a donation of £30,000 this year and to earmark £30,000 for the next two years. This contribution to the work of Glebe House will help enable development of a project similar to Circles of Support & Accountability http://www.circles-uk.org.uk/ (another very successful Quaker initiative) to provide ongoing support for the young men after they leave Glebe House.
SEAQM was anxious to invest in an ongoing project, not a temporary solution. By taking action “in time” to support the young men at Glebe House, we hope it will do good in the long term.
Peter Clarke, Director of Glebe House, wrote to the Area Meeting to express his thanks:
I would like to thank the Area Meeting for their generous donation. It is a real boost and affirmation of the work we are undertaking. As the Meeting is aware the transition support for the young men we work with is an area we are keen to develop. It was identified as a key factor in our recent outcome research findings. All Care Leavers face difficult times and the current services generally available are far from able to meet need. This is further magnified for the young men with the complex needs we work with.
The Trust has been working over recent times to further the understanding and relationship between the Therapeutic Community model we work to and Quaker values. Placing these two considerations together led us to a natural conclusion of revisiting the Circles of Support and Accountability model that Friends were so influential in bringing to the UK. We are hopeful that this project will consolidate the work and progress of the cohort completing the Glebe House programme and also begin to address the issues faced by all those leaving the care system. This is a project that seeks to meet immediate need and also lay foundations for addressing wider issues.
I believe it was a real challenge in faith for Trustees to make the step to develop this project by underwriting the cost through both an increase in fees and with our reserves. This generous donation is therefore gratefully received and significantly eases the pressure inherent in that decision. That is much appreciated.
Colin South, Honorary Treasurer of Friends Therapeutic Community Trust (Glebe House) and a Trustee, wrote: