Hop, Skip & Jump, Care in the High Street is now open at Swan Walk and parents and carers of both children and adults with disabilities and complex needs are now able to benefit from the new specialist disabled crèche and care centre. Their unit, opposite Wilkos, has been provided for two years by Aviva Life & Pensions UK, the owners of Swan Walk Shopping Centre, to enable the charity to get themselves set up and established in Horsham before finding a long term home.
Samantha Cameron, a long term supporter of Hop, Skip & Jump, made a private visit to the centre this week and met some of the local children and their families already benefitting from the care available.
“This very special centre, the second of its kind in the country, offers children with special needs and their families, a safe haven in the heart of the town. I have personal experience of the horrible struggle of attempting to do the weekly shop while caring for a disabled child and of trying to change nappies on the floor of a public toilet while out and about. I would have loved to have found such a supportive centre, where my child could be cared for while I carried out the everyday chores that other families take for granted.
I passionately support Hop, Skip and Jump’s commitment to help families cope with the challenges a disabled child brings, and fully back their amazing vision to offer ‘Care in the High Street’ facilities to families right across the country. I applaud the owners of Swan Walk Shopping Centre and Horsham District Council for their support of the charity and hope that similar partnerships can take place elsewhere;” commented Mrs Cameron.
“Having been introduced to the inspirational team behind the charity by Horsham District Council we have been delighted to support this invaluable initiative and it is exciting to see the centre now open. We know that this facility will not only support many of Swan Walk’s existing local and loyal customers and their families but also others from farther afield. Carers often have little or no respite support and Hop, Skip and Jump will enable them to be able to have some free time enjoying the Horsham experience for themselves and catching up on those visits to the dentist, shopping or meeting up with friends for coffee while knowing that their loved ones are fully cared for by Sabrina and her team; “said Gill Buchanan, Swan Walk Centre Manager.
The Hop, Skip and Jump Foundation is a registered charity which has been providing respite care for over 30 years. Their Care in the High Street initiative is an innovative approach to providing care for those with additional needs. The new Horsham centre contains a soft play area, an art and music space, sensory rooms, a fully accessible wet room and changing facility and fully qualified, professional staff.
Horsham District Council worked hand in hand with the team at Swan Walk to secure a town centre presence for the charity and will continue to support them in finding their forever home in the area.
Commenting on the new facility, Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Community and Wellbeing Cllr Kate Rowbottom said: “I am delighted that this amazing facility has opened in Horsham. It will make such an enormous difference to both disabled people and their guardians and will dramatically improve the lives of carers struggling to cope with the extra demands of caring for those with specialist needs. It is a tribute to the hard work of successful partnerships between the council, local people, Swan Walk Shopping Centre and not least the Hop, Skip and Jump Foundation. It will be a great asset to the town in so many ways.”
Trustee for the Hop Skip and Jump Foundation Clarissa Mitchell said: ‘We are really excited to have opened in Horsham. We have, for a long time, identified a real need for this kind of care in West Sussex and it is fantastic to now be able to help some of the most vulnerable people in the county. We are very grateful to Aviva Life & Pensions UK Ltd, the team at Swan Walk Shopping Centre, and Horsham District Council for their support in this new venture.’
