Charity forced to evict household

Four adults with autism are set to lose their home at the end of
the month because the specialist services provided for them by a
charity are considered “too expensive” by their local
council.

Hoffmann de Visme Foundation, a charity which runs services for
people with autism, has lost a contract with the London Borough of
Haringey to a national organisation.

As a result, the charity has had to ask the residents to leave
their home in north London at the end of the month because it
cannot afford to continue to provide their care.

Violet Saunds, whose son has been with the charity since he was a
child, described the council’s decision as “outrageous”.

“The council cannot bully small charities just because it has not
managed the learning difficulty budget properly,” she said.

But councillor Takki Sulaiman, executive member for Haringey social
services, said the council had to ensure that public money was used
wisely and best value obtained.

“Unfortunately Hoffmann’s bid to provide the same residential care
support for four autistic adults was significantly more expensive
than our preferred provider,” he said.