New Leaf Triangle is a Community Interest Company that provides a fun, supportive, stress-free, natural learning environment to help individuals of all ages to ‘grow’ and cope with life’s challenges. They provide educational & therapeutic sessions for individuals, families or groups with autism, ADHD, behaviours that challenge, learning difficulties, social & emotional difficulties and a range of mental health conditions in an outdoor environment with opportunities to interact with animals, including horses, with specialised, personalised support.
With funding of £3,000 from Leicestershire Fund, New Leaf Triangle was able to subsidise camps for families of children with complex needs during 2015 and 2016. In total 31 children plus their families benefited from the experience. The children had complex needs, mainly autism, ADHD and challenging behaviour. During the camps they took part in a wide range of fun therapeutic activities including activities on horses, with goats and small animals, fun sports and arts and crafts.
The project enabled families to attend irrespective of their background and circumstances, and in a number of cases they would not have been able to attend at the full cost of the camp. High staffing levels, which were made possible through the grant, and the use of volunteers enabled single parent families or disabled parents to attend – as New leaf Triangle were able to support them with the additional supervision of their children.
Parents have felt the camps have provided respite for them – where they have been able to relax and have a break and have felt revitalised. Other families have reported that attending camps and sessions have helped their family relationships – between parents, between parents and children and between siblings.
If you’d like more information about how you could help local children, individuals or families, or any cause you support in the local area please contact Katy Green at Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation on 0116 262 4804.
