Group helping disabled community saved after boost

A charity supporting hundreds of people with disabilities has been saved from closure, thanks to a £61,000 boost.

Allerdale Disability Association (ADA), based in Moorclose, Workington, Cumbria, announced earlier this month it would be forced to close due to financial challenges.

Sellafield, Cumbria Community Foundation and Cumberland Council have since stepped in with emergency funding to keep services running for the next 12 months.

Tracey Parker, ADA's manager, said the charity was "absolutely over the moon" to be able to continue to support their clients.

Service user Nick Wilson, who lives with complex learning difficulties, previously said ADA was "vital" for him and the potential closure "stopped him in his tracks".

Mr Wilson's fiancee, Kelly Stuart, had said she was "absolutely devastated".

ADA, which has been operating since 1976, provides free support on issues such as benefits for disabled people and also acts as a social hub for its members.

It said it helped people claim £8.4m in benefits in the last financial year alone and the number of people it supports increased by 43%, to more than 1,900 in the year.

As well as the cash, Sellafield said it would support ADA to "strengthen the organisation" and Cumbria CVS pledged to support it in applying for longer-term funding.

Tracey West, senior social impact manager at Sellafield, told BBC Radio Cumbria the charity offered "critical services" to some of the organisation's workers.

"We want to be able to help organisations to keep going and to continue to offer those services," she said.

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