25th Anniversary - The View from The Chair

Based on the opening remarks of Chairperson Gillian Anderson at Key's 25th Anniversary Celebration - November 2003.

The story we will tell today is of people on their own journeys - building their own lives with the help of others, and the part that Key has played in this.

Key was first registered as a housing association in 1978. In those early days the focus was on getting places for people to live with the support that they needed. Over the years, as needs and aspirations have changed, our focus in Key has changed - our support and housing services are now separate, they are more individualised, and the people we support are now involved in the organisation in a very real way.

From the start Key saw that getting a home of your own with the right support was the starting point for people to build a life for themselves as citizens. We have tried to learn over the years by listening to the people we support - by being open to change - by being outward looking. This is a time of great opportunity in the field of human services. The Same As You has transformed the landscape of expectations that people have of services, and most people agree that things are going in the right direction. As Key celebrates 25 years of trying to make a difference, it is encouraging to be entering our next 25 years within such a positive framework, one that places the individual at the centre of things, and that requires services to serve the individual.

Key has never sought a high public profile. In our day-to-day work of supporting people our aim is to be invisible, and wherever possible reduce dependency on our services. The most important feature of our work is the quality of relationship between the people we support and their supporters. If this is right, and built on a foundation of respect and commitment, then so much else follows. Over the years there have been many major changes in the organisation. What has not changed, though, is the spirit and the enthusiasm that provides the Management Committee and the staff.

We know that we can always do better, and we know that we must always be open to learn and to change. But we also know how important is stability and security for the people that we support, how important are the human relationships in our support work, and how valuable are our workers. And so we must meet and embrace change with a common set of values and principles so that we can maintain a steady course. This is what Key has tried to do over the years, and will continue to strive to do.

With the introduction of The Same As You, and other government initiatives, we find ourselves working ever more closely with local authorities in planning and delivering our services. With each of the 15 authorities with which we work we have tried over the years to build relationships that are based on trust and mutual respect, and to recognise that we are working in partnership towards the same end. This is not always easy, as there are sometimes different priorities, but over the years we have worked with so many committed people from local authorities who have helped us to make a difference for people.

The greatest change in Key over the past 10 years has been the increasing involvement of the people that we support in the Association, through the tenant advisory groups (there are over 100 people throughout the country now involved in these), through training and campaigning, and in our support of people to become involved in national organisations like the Learning Disability Alliance and the Scottish Consortium.

We are at the start of a new phase of our journey, and it feels as if there are many other organisations walking with us. The signposts are clearer than they have ever been, and we look forward with enthusiasm, with hope and with optimism.