About ABLE


Our history

Our Charity was started up in 1984 by Dorothy Gardener. Dorothy was a Senior Social Worker at Roundway Hospital and she was aware that ‘Care in the Community’ was starting to become Policy in Wiltshire – this would result in the eventual closure of the old type of institutions.

Dorothy started the Charity with a professional Committee which included having the Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychologist from Roundway Hospital on board.

The houses started to be opened – King Street came first – it was only staffed by a Warden/House Keeper, followed then by Glanmor, both houses at the time, had double occupancy in rooms large enough to accommodate. Lastly, Long St and The Beeches opened their doors.

As each house was opened, it emptied out one ward at a time. King Street and Glanmor then became ‘Registered Houses’ which meant they had to be staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Long Street and The Beeches were limited support houses only which had no overnight cover so they were known as ‘Partial Supported Projects’.

It eventually became apparent that we could no longer have ‘Professionals’ on our Committee due to the fact that their Employers was purchasing the placements from us – therefore we now have a very different type of Committee that is filled with people who care very much for our ethos and mission.

Long may we continue to make history!

Equal Opportunities

ABLE is committed to Equal Opportunities and our aim is to ensure that no person receives less favorable treatment on the grounds of race, color, ethnic or national origin, gender, disability, religion, beliefs or personal circumstances.

All possible steps are taken to ensure that decisions on client referrals and allocations are made in conjunction with the totality of ABLE’s referral policy.

This allows eligible applicants to have the opportunity to access the Registered or Supported People Projects.

It further allows the project to be used to its full potential, gives equal opportunity in the selection of clients and gives clarity to all interested parties with regard to the process of allocation.

Our trustees

ABLE has an interesting mix on its Board of Trustees – a team of dedicated and loyal people who meet together at least 6 times a year.

Their skills and experience have proved more than sufficient to meet regulatory performance standards and they make a vital contribution to the health and well-being of the organisation.