Annual Report 2023/24

“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” 

The Red Queen, Chapter 2, Alice Through the Looking Glass 

Welcome to the C-Change annual report 2023/24. In recent years it has felt that the Red Queen was right and that not-for-profit social care organisations had to …

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”

Magic is something we are never short of at C-Change, every single day brings small and large dollops of it: some of them look beautifully ordinary from the outside and some quite literally take your breath away. The magic, of course, is the people: people we work for, people we work alongside, friends, family members, colleagues and connections …

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” 
George Orwell, Animal Farm  

Unfortunately, in Scotland all citizens are not treated equally. Even though we have legislation that states that hospitals should not be homes, too many learning disabled people and autistic people are still living in institutions be that Assessment and Treatment Units, hospitals or congregate out of area placements not of their choosing…

We continue to be grateful to all the incredible people who make up our C-Change Board, chaired by Prof Ian Welsh, who work hard to support and guide C-Change to walk alongside individuals and the people who know and love them to plan for better futures. This year we said ‘goodbye’ to Matthew and ‘Hello’ to William.  

Matthew made a meaningful and lasting contribution over ten years with the board and was presented with a …

“It is known, to the force of a single pound weight, what the engine will do; but, not all the calculators of the National Debt can tell me the capacity for good or evil, for love or hatred, for patriotism or discontent, for the decomposition of virtue into vice, or the reverse.” – Charles Dickens, Hard Times 

It almost goes without saying that we are working through hard times. Years of under resourcing health and social care has left services threadbare. Social care is the invisible web of…

Starting anything new is a step into a Brave New World. Growing better not bigger means looking at things from fresh perspectives and working in a dynamic, agile and person-centred way. When C-Change were approached by a family regarding support for their son, it was agreed that the best way forward would be to start a new small supports project, and so Right to Better was born…

“Raskolnikov felt suddenly in his whole being that he had no more freedom of thought, no will. . . It was as if a part of his clothing had been caught in the cogs of a machine and he was being dragged into it.” 

Our health and social care systems are meant to be there to help, and for many, that is the case. However, there is another experience of these systems that is not as widely acknowledged. One more akin to that described by Raskolnikov…

“We changed again, and yet again…and the mists had all solemnly risen now and the world lay spread before me” 

Mahatma Ghandi said ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’. Here is William’s story in his own words: 

A long time ago, no, not in Bethlehem but in Aberdeen I met an organisation called C-Change. My first thoughts were ‘Who are they and are they going to help me?’ I remember …

The Board of Trustees at C-Change is committed to ensuring the effective use of public funds. In recent years, the third sector has faced significant challenges, including severe budget cuts, rising hourly rate pressures, increased regulatory demands, and a recruitment crisis. These factors have impacted our organisation this year. Following best practice the Board aims to …

In an increasingly challenging social and economic environment, fostering hope feels audacious, like a form of resistance. And resist we must. 

C-Change is built on relationships. This is our foundational strength. Its core purpose is to support disabled people to manage and use their individual budgets, to ensure they live their good life. Money is important, but it is only part of the picture…