Yesterday evening GAD's Chair, Sue Elsegood, and METRO Charity's Chair, Gwen Bryan, signed an agreement that marks the culmination of a robust process that sees our two charities merge.
GAD will merge into METRO's Community Domain, to become METRO GAD. GAD's services will continue as a distinct part of the METRO family of services, providing advice and information, advocacy and volunteering opportunities for disabled people who live, work or study in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Sue said:
"Not only does this merger mean that we can continue to serve disabled people in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, but also provides us with fantastic opportunities to grow and expand our services."
Gwen reflected on her own experience of merging with METRO:
"As the former Chair of Positive Parenting and Children, I have first hand experience of a merger with METRO, a merger that was key in ensuring that our vital work with families and children affected by HIV continued, a merger that was sensitively and carefully delivered aligning and enhancing PPC's and METRO's HIV offer.
"I'm delighted to be here today as METRO's Chair."
John Ley, GAD Trustee, said:
"GAD has been a ground breaking organisation for over 40 years. We were the first user-led organisation of disabled people in London, the first to support disabled people to access funding from the local authority to employ their own Personal Assistants (carers), the first to run a Personal Assistant agency where service users were managers of the support staff (not clients), and the first to provide counselling by fully qualified disabled counsellors."
METRO GAD with continue to work out of The Forum at Greenwich.
The merge formally comes into effect from 1st April 2019.