Livability exists to support people with disabilities to live a life that adds up for them. We do this by providing a wide range of services for a wide range of people and abilities – in care, in rehabilitation, education and vocation, wellbeing and much more.

We touch the lives of 12,000 people and directly support over 1,000 people with disabilities, every year. It looks different everywhere – but it all adds up.

During 2020’s coronavirus pandemic, Livability’s stringent health and safety measures meant that vulnerable people with disabilities in our care were extremely well-protected. Pandemic aside, life is often more difficult for someone with disabilities, with barriers ever-present in everyday life that we work to remove – barriers to receiving the appropriate care and support; to being able to access the world around us; to employment; to having opportunities to contribute and participate; and to being valued.

We make certain that our income is spent where it matters – on the people we serve. For every £1 spent, Livability invests 93p in our work, breaking down barriers for people with disabilities by providing personalised care, quality education, specialist rehabilitation and resourcing local community engagement.

A snapshot of what our work has achieved

• We support 400 adults with disabilities in our residential care homes, 634 adults with disabilities in the community and 155 children and young people with disabilities at our schools
• Our north London care home achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating from CQC, placing us in the top 2% of care homes in the UK
• The Flourish project supports around 40 individuals a week to participate in activities designed to improve wellbeing. Participants on the project report reduced social isolation, improved skill and an uplift in their sense of meaning and purpose and accomplishment
• Our resource More than Welcome has been requested by 826 people, equipping churches to support the full participation of people with disabilities
• In a recent survey, 93% or respondents had used, or planned to use, a Livability resource they downloaded, with 88% of these saying it was very or extremely helpful

The social context we work in today

• Around 19% of working age adults have a disability[1] and one in five people (13.9m) live with a disability.[2]
• 29,000 adults with intellectual disabilities live at home with parent carers who are over the age of 70, resulting in a dual carer role in the same household and increased pressure.[3]
• 35% of people with disabilities say they have experienced problems using the train.[4]
• In 2019, the proportion of recent internet users was lower for adults who were disabled (78%) compared with those who were not disabled (95%)[5]
• People with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed than people without disabilities[6]
• There are 4.2m people with disabilities living in poverty in the UK, which is 29% of all people living in poverty[7]
• Anyone of us can experience disability – with only 17% of people born with their disability; the majority of people become disabled later in life[8]

Take a look at our 2018-19 annual report for an overview of key achievements this year.