About us at the Hamlet Centre

The Hamlet Centre  is a registered charity, governed by a Board of Trustees and funded by a mixture of national and local government funding, grant making trusts and donations from individuals and businesses. We provide a range of services to care for adults and children with multiple disabilities to help them and their carers lead an everyday life. Our estimate is that we reach to up to a 1000 families each year, with many becoming friends as their children continue to use the centre into adulthood. We have a Supporter Club and we aim to involve the general public in our work through a  lively calendar of events throughout the year,.

Across our two locations we have a dedicated, trained core staff team of 35, who share a vast amount of experience of supporting disabled children and adults. Around 100 volunteers help us to make our delivery even more excellent and cost effective. Our fun and educational activities have our users’ happiness, safety, as well as their need to be valued and respected at the very heart of it. We achieve the balance of high quality care and support whilst bearing in mind the need for independence, self determination, inclusion and integration.

The Hamlet Centre works with children and adults who have:

• A severe learning disability and or severe physical disability
• Complex long term health needs, including those with life limiting conditions who have reached the stage of palliative care
• Physical, cognitive and sensory impairments
• Autism, Aspergers, and  Autistic Spectrum Disorder as well as other challenging behaviours

The Hamlet Centre history

The Hamlet Centre was initially started as a Toy Library Service, founded in 1972 by Jack and Margaret Wymer, a very entrepreneurial and inspirational disabled couple. Jack and Margaret believed passionately that with the right support, people with disabilities could make their own decisions, live independently and and move towards a good quality of life.  This ethos continues to underpin our work, just as we continue to use the Wymer’s flat as a venue for our independent living skills activities. Jack Wymer was a passionate Norwich City Football Club fan and would have simply loved the fact that we won the AVIVA Community Chest in 2010, which put the Hamlet Centre logo on the player’s shirts for one match.

Our building on Ella Road was purchased in 1982, and services have been delivered from there for over 30 years, until we were bursting at the seams. In Autumn 2011 we were able to move our Children’s services to Johnsons Place, into a dedicated refurbished building in the centre of Norwich.

 

 

 

 

Margaret Wymer – March 1938 – March 1996

Jack Wymer – July 1930 – Sept 1994