Have you ever achieved an ambition that has allowed your dream to become a reality? Ambitions come in many forms with some people preferring to set themselves achievable weekly goals, where others have ambitions that they have to work at over many years. Maybe you are making plans today, with ambitions that seem almost impossible to achieve. Well, this is exactly where Chris Millsted was some 30 years ago working as a director of nursing.
Her ambition was to see people with a learning disability living in the local community, in houses they could call home and if possible, to provide one of those homes herself. This would not be straightforward, as many people in power at the time believed that the system and institutions in place were perfectly suited to the needs of people with a learning disability.
However, with a lot of work from Chris and many other like-minded people, changes did start to occur and in 1997 the door to Westhaven, Millsted Care’s first residential home was opened offering a different and more fulfilling way of life to those that had become used to an institutional routine.
But like most ambitious people, Chris believed there was more to be done. So, after opening a second home, Woodcroft in 2001, the next project was to provide Surrey with a forward-thinking day service that would provide activities for adults with a learning disability to help develop their true potential.
Much hard work and thought went into the opening of Dayspace. The ethos that was flowing through the houses needed to be reflected in this day centre setting. It needed to be person-centred, a one-size fits-all approach would not work here, customers would be treated like adults, not children and the sessions needed to be led by those with skills and experience in the appropriate professions. Everything from the type of building to the colours on the wall were carefully considered to ensure that customers felt they were entering a place where they could be inspired, be motivated and most importantly be themselves. In 2011 Dayspace Caterham launched, followed by Dayspace Reigate in 2017.
With the desire to see transformation in the lives of people with a learning disability and pure determination to succeed, Chris has achieved so much more than she first set out to and with every accomplishment another aspiration forms.
Chris remains CEO of Millsted Care, but has now passed the day to day running of the company to her daughters Hannah and Rachel who have inherited the same drive and dedication to improve the quality of care and expand the offering of outstanding services for people with a learning disability.
At Millsted Care we would encourage anyone with ambition to go for it. With determination, hard work and lots of positivity you can do it and if you would like to share, we’d love to hear your story.