A NEW world of opportunity has opened up for Stephen Samson and Suheyl Patel.

They started training at the Homestead unit in November under the Government's New Deal scheme and are due to finish in June.

Stephen, 22, of Green Lane, Blackburn, has enjoyed learning new skills.

"I've been doing upholstery, as well as making footstools and sewing and I've also learnt how to make a chicken curry and an apple pie in the cookery classes. I've enjoyed gardening the most and I've been doing my work experience at a garden centre in Wilpshire, where I've been shovelling and bagging woodchip and potting plants."

Suheyl, 21, of Carlton Gardens, Blackburn, said he would be looking for a job in a supermarket when he finishes the course in June.

He said: "I've been going to Oddie's bakery, in Nelson, for my work placement and I've been packing sausages and filling pies. We've also had lots of help in our job search and I've learnt how to answer questions in job interviews and fill out application forms."

Stephen and Suheyl are working at the unit with two other students who are under the New Deal scheme and two students with severe learning difficulties.

Adele Archer, unit manager, said: "We run three workshops where we offer subjects including horticulture, soft furnishings, upholstery, furniture restoration, as well as interview techniques and work-related skills. In the classroom we offer basic numeracy and literacy and skills to help with the job search. "We also offer help with setting up work placements towards the end of the course. The students have a go at everything and then they can decide which subject, if any, they would like to pursue further."

When the Homestead project opened in October 1989, all the places were filled instantly. There was a constant stream of inquiries for places and a perennial waiting list of up to 12 people who wanted places.

After seven years, funding for places became difficult to obtain. Social services, who had previously provided funding, saw the scheme as expensive, compared to placement in a residential care home. Blackburn Child Care Society has since refurbished the ground floor of the large building in Wilpshire as an employment training facility, with an emphasis on being ecologically-friendly and using recycled materials as much as possible.

Pat Mahon, director of the society, said: "Without the Homestead project, young people who need residential further education and training would have to travel as far as Cumbria, Lancaster, Southport, the North East, or even Bristol and South Wales."

Mrs Mahon hopes the unit will be fully up-and-running again by September 2000, offering both day and residential places to students. In the meantime, the scheme will cost about £50,000 per year to operate. The trustees of Blackburn Child Care Society will put some funds into the scheme and further cash will be raised through New Deal trainees and students from mainstream schools attending for specialist courses. Mrs Mahon said: "From our past experience, young people with learning difficulties who go to mainstream further education colleges find it difficult to fit in with able-bodied students. We need to make an emphasis on attracting young people to the unit, by inviting parents to come along and see what we are doing here."

Young people under the Government's New Deal scheme are also welcome at the unit. The Society would welcome inquiries from the parents or carers of young people who have learning difficulties or disabilities, especially if the young person has not had any further education provision since leaving school.

Mrs Mahon said she would like to hear from anybody who is willing to make a donation (personal or corporate), a Deed of Covenant, a trust or any form of funding provision to help resurrect the Homestead.

Donations of wood off-cuts, materials for use in upholstery and soft furnishing, old wooden furniture, paint, etc, are also welcome. The society hopes that if it can somehow fund the project for two years it will then become self-funding as statutory funding is obtained.

If you would like more details on the Homestead Project, call Mrs Mahon on 01254 248061.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.