Changing Mindsets and Rebuilding Lives

Innovation to help those with complex needs

Twist is easy. Where others see “complex needs” we see “multiple talents” as in the “GIFTS WITH A TWIST” group shown above in Stevenage indoor market. We take on a broad range of projects that inspire behaviour change, from working with young people under threat of exclusion from school to working with migrant communities. We are particularly interested in helping people feel valued and feel motivated to become a part of the broader community. Many projects inspire the entrepreneurial spirit, whether that means starting up a business or community enterprise or getting a placement in a City law firm.

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PEOPLE AT RISK

We help people who are on the verge of taking decisions that have grave consequences for them, both in the present and in the future. We’ve worked with teenagers at risk of exclusion and people whose brushes with the law are threatening to derail their lives. We intervene and forge positive relationships that help build trust – and a belief in a better future.[/text_output]

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CULTURAL INTEGRATION

So-called marginalised people and communities are often sources of untapped potential with skills and experience to improve the lives of other people in Britain. From enterprise and business relationships to health improvement and cultural understanding, our projects bring people to life. The picture above shows the women from Twist’s Poplar Health group and their families meeting the Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Abid Hussein on the occasion of their visit to the women of Bradford in August 2017 to extend their health campaign to the Bengali community of that City.

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ADVOCACY AND THE DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT GAP

We are campaigning organisation on behalf of people like ourselves, with a range of illnesses and disabilities and social and civil disadvantages. Both our staff and clients, whether in work or looking for employment or other useful activity, are precisely those sort of people who would benefit from the government’s declared intention to halve the Disability Employment Gap. In keeping with our counter-intuitive approach, we take a distinctive line in trying to influence government policy and to reduce the polarisation between those who seem to impede the rights of disadvantaged people and those who wish to over-protect them. A group of clients made a written submission to the Parliamentary Select committee on the Disability Employment Gap in 2016 which you can read here.

Case Studies

Take a look at our projects and success stories.

Changing lives. We take people as they are. We encourage them to feel capable and respected and to raise their aspirations. We focus, not on their needs or the difficulties they have suffered but on their existing talents and future prospects. More >