'Constant battle': Chair of Jersey learning disability charity steps down after nearly 40 years


The chair of a learning disability charity in Jersey has stepped down after nearly 40 years with the organisation.

In his resignation letter, Leslie Norman said it had become a "constant battle" to get funding for Les Amis.

He also accused members of the island's health sector of bullying.

Speaking to ITV News, he said the bullying came in the form of being "stonewalled and not being helped in a way that we (Les Amis) should."

He described care for people with learning disabilities as being "permanently bottom of the pile, to the extent where I was attending meetings and coming away losing the will to live."

While most of the charity's money comes from donations, the day-to-day support it provides is funded by the government.

However, Leslie claims this process has become more bureaucratic to the point he believes the government is just kicking the ball down the road.

ITV News contacted the government for comment, but no one was available.

However, its CEO, Suzanne Wylie, issued a statement in which she thanked Leslie for his services to the charity sector, but said she does not accept his allegations of bullying.


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