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‘They gave me five days to live, It was my
last chance. I tried to do it my way and
couldn’t... When I arrived, I wanted to get
back out drinking again, but I forced myself to
stay there – and I’m glad I did.’
Wayne SmyThe
‘We’re all part of the enterprise’
e’ve been a therapeutic
community since May,’ says
Penny Williams, Kenward’s chief
executive, who only came to the role in May.
Before that she was the charity’s director of
marketing and communications, so when
she began her new job she was excited
about developing the social enterprise.
‘Residents become part of the
enterprise, developing their confidence,
expressing themselves and learning skills,’
she says. For Kenward it means an
opportunity to harness talent, to help the
organisation to thrive.
Creating Kenward Enterprises Ltd as a
separate company has given scope to run a
business, using all the assets of a beautiful
location. They run the café and are
expanding their events programme. They
have the perfect backdrop for exclusive
events and hope to become a dry wedding
venue in the near future.
‘W
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‘We want to develop more activities –
classic car rallies, zip wires, woodland walks
– and get more animals such as donkeys,’
she says, stretching her arm towards the
grounds beyond the alpaca enclosure. She
is excited about the business opportunities,
which go hand in hand with plans to
develop accommodation at the house.
As well as a female move-on house, she
talks about a homeless project using onsite
accommodation and partnering with an
organisation in Maidstone, where these
clients would receive support. Alongside
this she is ‘starting to do partnerships with
business’ and is excited about the future.
She has had her own journey – coming
to Kenward was her ‘starting point’ in
recovering from cancer. Now, just as so
many of her residents are, she feels full of
possibilities. ‘There are so many
opportunities here,’ she says, as she takes
her leave to investigate the next.
‘We want to develop more activities –
classic car rallies, zip wires, woodland
walks – and get more animals’
Penny WIllIamS
October 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 17