A SMALL charity is making a big impact in helping improve the lives of disabled and vulnerable people in Thurrock.

Established in 1999, Thurrock Centre for Independent Living (TCIL) is a small local charity that offers support and advice on a variety of issues that affect disabled people, and has an outstanding track record in assisting vulnerable people. 

And it has been acknowledged by the Parliamentary Review as offering best practice.

Based in Grays at the Beehive Community Resource Centre on West Street and funded from a mix of local authority grants and grant funding from charitable trusts, the charity welcomes donations from individuals and other organisations and businesses, both locally and more widely, to enable it to develop and improve its service offer.

TCIL is a member of the Thurrock Coalition, which takes a "user-led" approach to the needs of local people who require general advice, benefits advice and advocacy.

The TCIL team can assist people with the majority of disability-related issues from providing information or advising about a situation that simply requires completing an application form to a more complex situation that needs a formal advocate or complaint to be made, and many matters in between of concern to disabled individuals and their carers.

TCIL promotes the Social Model of Disability and will try to remove or reduce the barriers that prevent disabled people accessing the services they need to give them choice and control over their own situations and to maintain their independence.

Its services are wide and varied from assisting disabled and vulnerable people to prepare for or return to work, to being part of a consortium supporting carers with information and advice, including Lasting Power of Attorney applications. The biggest demand continues to be helping vulnerable people navigate their way to the crucial financial and other support they need to live now and in the future.

Kelly Wooley is the formal advocate and manager at Thurrock Centre for Independent Living and she told Thurrock Nub News: "We also focus upon providing support, information and training, producing CVs and the development of presentation and interview skills, work experience and volunteering opportunities. 

"World of Work is a personalised service for the residents of Thurrock, offering tailored support to explore the World of Work.

"We have an extremely high success rate of benefit applications and a 92.8% success rate for tribunal appeals. We cover a wide range of subjects from advice and information, advocacy, lasting power of attorney, will writing, wheelchair hire, Radar keys, court of protection, consultations, equipment and wheelchair hire."