Heath Gunn, CEO at Enham Trust, writes a blog following his recent nomination at the CEO Today Awards, about why he thinks Enham Trust is so special.

"I’ve been giving some thought recently to what it is that makes Enham Trust a special place to be. I hear people say it quite often, whether from visitors who are seeing Enham for the first time, our tenants and residents in the village talking with passion about where they live, or our staff and volunteers who are so committed to making things better on a daily basis. There really is something very special about this organisation that inspires and evokes a passion that you don’t see very often.

I consider myself to be really fortunate to be only the third person to be CEO at Enham Trust in the last 30 years. Most of my time in post has been spent facing the challenges of a complete organisational turnaround, to address the finance, quality and reputational issues the Trust has had over recent years. I am immensely proud of the progress that has been made in tackling these challenges head on and have been consistently impressed by the dedication of the staff when things have been at their hardest.

Our Values

"Our values, which are a common denominator, are solid. With each person in our care and employment services working under the absolute belief they are here to support disabled people to have greater choice and control over their lives. Our housing team have a slightly broader view as we do not only house disabled people, but they do so with the same rock-solid values.

Our delivery models are quite broad and are constructed under the three banners of Housing, Care and Employment. These three elements hang together and are so completely co-dependant, that it becomes difficult to imagine one without the other.

When you think about our core beneficiaries, who are disabled and disadvantaged people, the primary need of most people is a warm, safe and secure home, which our housing and maintenance team cover off with great diligence.

Once the need for shelter is met, for a disabled person, there needs to a recognition of what their support needs are, based on their strengths, the things they enjoy and are good at; and we add to that anything which they feel will enhance their quality of life. Our care and information, advice and guidance teams, together with the Move Programme have this in hand and deliver excellent person-centred care focussed on individual goals and outcomes.

Pieces of the puzzle

"With all this in order, the last piece of the puzzle is to have the social and economic independence provided. By work, or meaningful occupation, this is where Enham Trust’s Employment team, Skills2Achieve teams and Social Enterprises, come into their own. As Disability Confident Leaders, we have both the knowledge and experience needed to support disabled people into work, gaining the skills and qualifications they need to progress. Together with helping employers to see the value a disabled employee can add to their workforce, and how to recruit and support them to flourish.

As we start to look forward to building the kind of Enham Trust we are all proud to be a part of and continue to tweak and change things towards this aim, I think I have arrived at the conclusion that it’s the people, staff, volunteers and customers that make this place so special, and with that in mind I will strive to make sure they all have the best experience they can of Enham."

- Heath

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