Founded as a Registered Charity in 1986
We were founded as a registered charity, DIAL Lowestoft & Waveney, in July 1986 by five people with disabilities who wanted to make a difference to their lives and to the lives of those in similar circumstances. Over the years, we have helped thousands of people. We started local branches of Shopmobility and have played a pivotal role in the development of the Waveney Disability Forum. We became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in October 2018, and subsequently changed our name to Disability Advice North East Suffolk (DANES) to better reflect what we do and where we operate. We celebrated our 35th birthday in 2021 at our Annual Meeting of users and supporters.
We remain a Disabled Persons Organisation with our Charitable Objective at the heart of our work which is “To relieve people with disabilities living in Lowestoft, Waveney and North East Suffolk and the surrounding area so that they may lead active and fulfilling lives integrated with society.”
We want to help and support our clients to gain and retain employment, have enough money to live on, be able to access local goods and services, including clinical care, and be able to socialise.
Our Vision
We want a society where people of all ages are enabled to overcome the disadvantages they face through long-term illness and disability.
Our Mission
To be the ‘go to’ charity for people and organisations in North East Suffolk seeking to enable, inform and effect change for those who are living with disabilities.
Our headquarters are at 161 Rotterdam Road, Lowestoft NR32 2EZ in purpose-built premises. We also operate an outreach service throughout Waveney, in GP surgeries, DWP offices, community buildings, or wherever we’re needed. We also visit people in their homes if they are unable to travel to us.
We have a dedicated team of advisors, who can support those in our community with a disability or long-term health condition as well as their carers. We offer support with Benefits, Employment, Education, Housing, Council tax, Services, Volunteering, Local welfare services, Health, Support Groups, Leisure, Sport, Travel and transport, Access, and mobility.
We offer support with Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals where appropriate.
