About

The Unity Centre | About

The Unity Centre is a social centre for people with a learning difficulty, their parents and Carers.
With us you will find a place to feel at home and make friends without judgement.

We opened in March 2012 and have built up a good reputation for our members to relax, make friends and join in any activities if they wish. If you have any suggestions on new activities you would like us to put on within the Centre, we are always happy to do this, if it is possible. We have arts & Crafts, music, table top games, game consoles, karaoke, Groove dance movement and more, as well as giving work experience and volunteering opportunities within our shop and coffee bar.

The Centre is run by Lowestoft and District Mencap volunteers. We are a stand-alone, self-contained charity that is affiliated with Royal Mencap Society, they don't fund us, they guide us but don't govern us. We give our time freely to support and befriend anyone who wants to be a part of Unity life. Our volunteers are a good age range so there is someone for all ages to relate to. some of our volunteers have grown and expanded their knowledge on customer service, this has led to them gaining employment using the skills they have attained with us. We are very
proud to say we have a large team volunteers who enjoy being with us.

We predominantly help those with learning difficulties who live alone or with parent/carers in the community. People often become isolated and lonely due to having a learning difficulty, our aim is for them to feel that they have a family environment at Unity, which we are proud to say, many feel we are family to them. All vulnerable adults are welcome, whatever their situation. Parents and carers too, life can also be quite lonely and isolated for them, so we are here to let them know they are supported and have people who care about them.

At the Unity Centre we aim to be here for the more able people who feel that they don’t need a lot of support but like to be around like minded people who understand their additional needs. We are not carers though. If a service user needs a carer, then the carer has to stay on the premises.

We are an information centre and a shoulder to lean on, giving advice as best we can. If we don’t know the answer to questions we are asked, we will find out for you. We can also point you in the right direction if you want to know about other activities in our town. We actively work alongside many organizations.

We are a Stay safe Centre, where people feeling vulnerable in the community can come and be supported, as well as being third party ‘Hate crime & Mate crime’ centre, this means that if anyone feels bullied or victimised for whatever reason, we can help them report it and support them through a process ranging from reporting it anonymously, to supporting them through a court case if they wish to take matters further. We can show the vulnerable that there are people who are willing to listen and help. Many people who are victims of hate/mate crime don’t realize they have been a victim; we can show them that the way they are being treated is wrong and that we can support them to stop the problem reccurring.

We have expanded into the units next to us running an internet gaming centre Called "The Fort". Our Unity Youth Project has become so successful that we outgrew our Centre building with it. The Fort contains 10 computers to play esports, three game console stations a virtual reality unit and a streaming station. There will still be trading card and table top games for those who enjoy them, a coffee bar and a relaxation area for parents an carers.

Over the years we have had local school year 11’s in for work experience, along with The Princes Trust, who have held activities as part of their course, as well as helping to decorate The Fort and build a fabulous coffee bar when we were preparing to open there. We have also had Life Skills and Talent Match join us to gain work experience. We enjoy our time with the youngsters who bring such happiness to the premises with their eagerness to learn and take part.