Co-Authored by Laura Goldsmith

Positive Support for You (PSFY) aims to transform care by transforming lives with individualised support for people in need.

Following the £150,000 investment from Northstar Ventures, Positive Support for You can reach more people, families and communities and pave the way for a revolutionised system of care on a larger scale. This investment was made alongside a grant of £37,500 from the Community Foundation serving Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.

In a world where everyone deserves the right to dignity and independence, Positive Support for You provides vital support for individuals with learning disabilities and complex needs. Its innovative, person-centred approach empowers individuals to thrive in their own homes or alongside their families, whilst having full access to care from the PSFY team.

At the heart of the Positive Support for You mission is a commitment to safe and respectful support. A diverse team of support workers, with unique experiences and backgrounds, allows for tailored interactions that promote trust and understanding. The staff, trained to high standards in managing challenging behaviours, champion techniques that focus on de-escalation rather than restraint. This philosophy aligns directly with the local implementation of the Transforming Care Policy, which seeks to enhance the lives of those with learning disabilities and/or autism.

Positive Support for You aspires to reduce hospitalisation by enabling people to receive essential care within their own communities. Ultimately, the organisation is redefining the narrative around care for individuals with complex needs, paving the way for a more inclusive future.

Keen to drive lasting change in the North East is CEO, Dave Barras, a passionate advocate for improving care standards, with a breadth of knowledge within the sector.

Northstar Ventures’ loan, via the North East Social Investment Fund, will stand out as a beacon of hope in the Tees Valley area.

Dave Barras, CEO, Positive Support for You says: “We have been thrilled with the support we have had from Northstar Ventures over several years. The new funds we have secured are enabling us to expand our operations to work with children and young people in addition to our existing work with adults. Everyone we support has complex needs linked to their learning disability, autistic spectrum conditions or mental ill health and we are passionate about enabling each person to have their best life, living in their own community. Our bespoke individualised care enables this.”

Ian Richards, Director, Northstar Ventures says: “We are delighted to continue to support the outstanding work done by Dave and his team.”

Rob Williamson, Director, The Community Foundation serving Tyne and Wear says: “We are pleased to provide grant funding as part of the financial package to Positive Support For You. We know that there is considerable need for the kind of care and support the organisation provides, and its expansion is to be welcomed.”

Notes To Editors

Press contacts – Northstar Ventures Limited

Deborah Nixon Carr
Marketing / Investment Support
M: 07754 800 749
[email protected]

Emma O’Rourke
Finance Director
M: 07715 366 434
[email protected]

About Northstar Ventures

Northstar Ventures is a North East venture capital company investing in successful high growth SMEs and social sector organisations across the North East.  The North East Social Investment Fund is one of the Funds we manage.

The North East Social Investment Fund invests in social enterprises with individual investments ranging in size from £100k to £1m.  The Fund is targeted at organisations which exist primarily to deliver social impact and which reinvest the majority of their surpluses to further their social mission; including charities (limited by guarantee or CIO only), CICs (limited by guarantee or shares) and Registered Societies (previously known as ‘Industrial and Provident Societies’, for community benefit).  NESIF is backed by Big Society Capital, the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and The Northstar Foundation.

Northstar Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Northstar Ventures Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 05104995. Registered office: 5th Floor, Maybrook House, 27-35 Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5JE.

Further information can be found at www.northstarventures.co.uk

About Positive Support For You (CIC)

Positive Support For You CIC are a social enterprise, passionate about enabling people with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum conditions and/or mental ill health to have great and fulfilling lives in their own homes and in the local community. Everyone we support lives in their own home, or with their family . Each person we support has a team of staff who have been matched to their needs and has been well trained.

About Better Society Capital (BSC)

Better Society Capital is the UK’s leading social impact investor. Our mission is to grow the amount of money invested in tackling social issues and inequalities in the UK. We do this by investing our own capital and helping others invest for impact too.

Since 2012, we have helped build a market that has directed more than £9 billion into social purpose organisations tackling issues from homelessness and mental health to childhood obesity and fuel poverty, a ten-fold increase in ten years.

Further information can be found at www.bettersocietycapital.com

About Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (EFF)

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities throughout the UK both now and in the future. It does this by funding the charitable work of organisations with the ideas and ability to achieve positive change.

The Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-makers in the UK.  It makes grants of £30 – £35 million annually towards a wide range of work within the arts, education and learning, the environment and social change. It also operates a £26 million Finance Fund which invests in organisations that aim to deliver both a financial return and a social benefit.

Further information can be found at www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk

About Joseph Rowntree Foundation 

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is an independent organisation working to inspire social change through research, policy and practice.

For more information visit www.jrf.org.uk

About the Northstar Foundation 

The Northstar Foundation is a registered charity (registration number 1158262) with wide charitable goals with a particular focus on supporting entrepreneurship and social enterprises that benefit excluded and deprived communities in the North East of England. Northstar Ventures Limited is committed to supporting our community and The Northstar Foundation has been set up to do this.

For more information contact: [email protected]

About North East Social Investment Company (NESIC)

North East Social Investment Company and its first social investment fund, NESIF, have been set up to provide an innovative, regional, strategic solution to developing the market for social investment in the North East and to reducing disadvantage, deprivation and social need in North East communities. The Board of NESIC will provide leadership regionally and nationally for the development of social investment.

About the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland

The Community Foundation grows giving and philanthropy, enabling people and businesses to support vital causes across North East England. Every year, it awards millions of pounds in grants to hundreds of local charities and community organisations through funds set up donors. The Newcastle-based charity, the UK’s biggest community foundation, has built an endowment of nearly £90 million as a community asset to support people and places in its area in perpetuity.

For the North East Social Investment Fund, the Community Foundation took over assets and responsibilities transferred by the former Northern Rock Foundation, which had set up the initiative with Better Society Capital and others.