Thera Trust (“Thera”) is the sole charitable parent company of a group of companies (“Thera Companies”) that work with people with a learning disability.
The beneficiaries of the work of Thera Companies are people with a learning disability themselves, their families, carers and the communities in which they live. It is Thera’s vision to ensure that people with a learning disability – some of the most disadvantaged people in society – are supported to choose and control their lives and care and, indeed, to control Thera itself.
Many people with a learning disability have had a difficult history in the UK – labelled, locked away in institutions and excluded from society. Most have had substantial limitations placed on their life opportunities and as a result many have lost contact with family, been unable to maintain or develop a network of friends, integrate in the local community and have relied exclusively on paid staff for the majority of their life.
Thera was established in 1998 and at that time it supported 5 beneficiaries in Cambridgeshire and had an annual income of £185,000. Currently, Thera Companies together support more than 1,700 beneficiaries in a range of communities across England and in a small area of Scotland. Thera’s income has grown to £44.3m in the year to 31 March 2013.
Thera’s vision is to be an organisation that involves people with a learning disability in how it is led and managed; where people have a voice, can set the agenda, demonstrate their abilities and talents and work towards their life goals by taking control of their own lives, as well as controlling the organisation that supports them.
Thera supports beneficiaries in their own homes, in the community and for short breaks. Thera Companies also provide more specialised support such as financial advocacy, support into employment, social enterprises, peer review of quality and support for people to employ their own teams of staff. This work is under contract, usually with the social services department of a local authority.