02/02/2023
DART CLOSURE
At a Trustees meeting held in July 2022 it was agreed, DART would close at the end of March 2023. The Council has since agreed to transfer the funding from DART to Disability Support Calderdale for a 12-month period commencing 1st April 2023.
DART was originally formed in 1984 under the then Manpower Services Commission ‘Community Programme’ Scheme. At that time there were 13 members of staff employed as we also managed and operated the minibus service on behalf of the Disabled Adults Minibus Service (DAMBA). There were 3 Advisers along with support workers, clerical support staff along with minibus drivers and escorts.
From 1987 Calderdale Council agreed to fund one of the posts within DART and a few years later DAMBA separated from DART and the Council took on the funding of the whole advice and information service. The Council then encouraged DART to find funding from other sources and in 1999 we secured lottery funding which enabled us to employ more staff and therefore deliver more services to our client group. This funding ran for 7 years and since that time we have also had success in securing funding from a variety of other sources including the lottery; PCT/CCG; the government (Targeted Support Fund/Pension Plus) and a host of Trusts and Charities including Lloyds, Allen Lane Foundation; Community Foundation for Calderdale; the Postcode Lottery Trust and the Carers Project to name but a few.
Applying for funding whilst at the same time delivering a service has been a struggle and very time consuming and at times very soul destroying. In recent years funding became much harder to secure and we also lost short-term funding streams which in turn meant we had to let experienced staff go.
In recent times the Covid pandemic added to our difficulties and the recent cost of living crisis also increased our running costs. This meant we had to call on our reserves to maintain the service and when it became apparent these reserves would eventually run out, the Trustees took the decision to close, in order that we would be able to meet all of our financial liabilities.
Since 1984 we have assisted many thousands of clients with many thousands of issues. To see the difference our interventions made to the lives of so many individuals was a constant reminder of why the organisation was set up in the first place. We have helped many clients to claim the benefits to which they were entitled and have consistently achieved excellent success rates.
Throughout our history the extra income we generated for clients regularly equated to £10 for every £1 of funding we received.
Since the announcement of the closure, we have been contacted by many clients who wanted to thank us for the support we have given to them over the years. A selection of these anonymised comments follows:
“I can only say thanks for all the help given over the years for myself and three other family members. This must span from the 1990s to the present day.
What a sad day”.
“Thank you so much for the email informing me DART will be closing.
I'd like to take this opportunity in showing my gratitude towards the help and advice given when I used the service last year, I'd never have managed without your help.
I truly hope Calderdale Council replace the service with a provider who has the same extensive ability and support”.
“I initially contacted you in the summer for help with my son and his family following a diagnosis of Parkinson’s. I would like to thank you for your invaluable assistance, often responding extremely quickly, in offering such expert advice. I would also like to express my regret that your service will be closing in March as I am sure that there will be many other people in a similar position to our family who will struggle to make sense of our complicated benefit system without your support. I wish you well for the future”.
“An irreplaceable group, no other group has done so much for so many Disabled and non-Disabled people, you will be missed”
“I am really sorry to hear this, they were really helpful to me at the beginning of last year after I suffered a collapsed back and was diagnosed with bone cancer. They checked all my forms for me to ensure I received the correct benefits amongst other advice”
“So sorry to hear about DART closing down.
Warm wishes and thanks to Tony, hoping you find a good position soon”.
We would love to hear your opinions/memories of the service you have received from DART over the last 38 years and hope that you will continue to receive the advice you need in the future.
DART CLOSURE
At a Trustees meeting held in July 2022 it was agreed, DART would close at the end of March 2023. The Council has since agreed to transfer the funding from DART to Disability Support Calderdale for a 12-month period commencing 1st April 2023.
DART was originally formed in 1984 under the then Manpower Services Commission ‘Community Programme’ Scheme. At that time there were 13 members of staff employed as we also managed and operated the minibus service on behalf of the Disabled Adults Minibus Service (DAMBA). There were 3 Advisers along with support workers, clerical support staff along with minibus drivers and escorts.
From 1987 Calderdale Council agreed to fund one of the posts within DART and a few years later DAMBA separated from DART and the Council took on the funding of the whole advice and information service. The Council then encouraged DART to find funding from other sources and in 1999 we secured lottery funding which enabled us to employ more staff and therefore deliver more services to our client group. This funding ran for 7 years and since that time we have also had success in securing funding from a variety of other sources including the lottery; PCT/CCG; the government (Targeted Support Fund/Pension Plus) and a host of Trusts and Charities including Lloyds, Allen Lane Foundation; Community Foundation for Calderdale; the Postcode Lottery Trust and the Carers Project to name but a few.
Applying for funding whilst at the same time delivering a service has been a struggle and very time consuming and at times very soul destroying. In recent years funding became much harder to secure and we also lost short-term funding streams which in turn meant we had to let experienced staff go.
In recent times the Covid pandemic added to our difficulties and the recent cost of living crisis also increased our running costs. This meant we had to call on our reserves to maintain the service and when it became apparent these reserves would eventually run out, the Trustees took the decision to close, in order that we would be able to meet all of our financial liabilities.
Since 1984 we have assisted many thousands of clients with many thousands of issues. To see the difference our interventions made to the lives of so many individuals was a constant reminder of why the organisation was set up in the first place. We have helped many clients to claim the benefits to which they were entitled and have consistently achieved excellent success rates.
Throughout our history the extra income we generated for clients regularly equated to £10 for every £1 of funding we received.
Since the announcement of the closure, we have been contacted by many clients who wanted to thank us for the support we have given to them over the years. A selection of these anonymised comments follows:
“I can only say thanks for all the help given over the years for myself and three other family members. This must span from the 1990s to the present day.
What a sad day”.
“Thank you so much for the email informing me DART will be closing.
I'd like to take this opportunity in showing my gratitude towards the help and advice given when I used the service last year, I'd never have managed without your help.
I truly hope Calderdale Council replace the service with a provider who has the same extensive ability and support”.
“I initially contacted you in the summer for help with my son and his family following a diagnosis of Parkinson’s. I would like to thank you for your invaluable assistance, often responding extremely quickly, in offering such expert advice. I would also like to express my regret that your service will be closing in March as I am sure that there will be many other people in a similar position to our family who will struggle to make sense of our complicated benefit system without your support. I wish you well for the future”.
“An irreplaceable group, no other group has done so much for so many Disabled and non-Disabled people, you will be missed”
“I am really sorry to hear this, they were really helpful to me at the beginning of last year after I suffered a collapsed back and was diagnosed with bone cancer. They checked all my forms for me to ensure I received the correct benefits amongst other advice”
“So sorry to hear about DART closing down.
Warm wishes and thanks to Tony, hoping you find a good position soon”.
We would love to hear your opinions/memories of the service you have received from DART over the last 38 years and hope that you will continue to receive the advice you need in the future.
