1986 - 2015
In 1986 a 20 year old man living in Gravesend faced the biggest challenge of his life following a road traffic accident. Simon Hawkridge sustained a high level spinal cord injury leaving him permanently paralysed from the neck down. With the support of his family Simon eventually returned home but the journey had been long and arduous. He decided to use his experience and knowledge by setting up a charity – The Simon Paul Foundation – to help make the transition from hospital to home for other spinal cord injured people a less traumatic process. Simon continued to play a prominent part in driving the organisation forward in his roles as Chair and then President, while his family were involved in many fund-raising activities.
As with all precious gems, small is beautiful! The organisation started with one part-time employee – Wendy Waller – and little else. The appointment of a Project Manager, Fiona Jerreat, plus the dedication and energy of voluntary Trustees chaired by Charles Raven, gave the charity the impetus to increase funding opportunities and by the mid 1990s a Project Worker, Joanna Whisker was also employed. By then it was obvious that the service needed to be expanded to offer information and advice, advocacy, a listening ear, Disability Equality and Personal Assistant training and Person Centred Planning, to all physically disabled people within the North West Kent area.
In the following years, changes of office location together with the input and experience of Service Managers Zenia Wainwright-Melnyk and George Sapiets, together with client workers Kay Lawson and Pauline Napier, plus the continued dedication and hard work of volunteer Trustees chaired by Janet Cumnerand finally Barbara Ring, gave The Simon Paul Foundation the energy to offer a personalised service based on the needs of clients in the Gravesend/Dartford/Swanley area.
Throughout the laughter, tears, hard work, unpaid hours,frustration, coffee and doughnuts, Wendy Waller organised, advised, and chivvied everyone along creating a unique service that has positive memories for everyone, aptly summed up by carer Liz Howe
“When I was trying to cope with my husband’s depression following a stroke, SPF was a lifeline for me.”
Collaboration with Centre of Independent LivingKent (CiLK) began in 2012 when George Sapiets and Sophie Fournel (Project Manager of CiLK) were commissioned by Kent County Council to find out what physically disabled people in Kent felt about the quality of statutory services, which resulted in a major report setting out key recommendations towards improving services: – “Towards a Better Future – Making it Work” ( May 2013).
The positive impact of the report prompted Kent County Councilto highlight the strength in the two organisations coming together as one. With increasing demands, and the difficulties experienced in resourcing funding, The Simon Paul Foundation and CiLK agreed to join forces in 2016, thus maintaining a county-wide service to all disabled people in Kent with the integrity, commitment and sense of fun that both organisations aspire to.