Governor inspects KGV facilities

Saturday 14 January 2023

The organisations based at the KGV have welcomed the Lieutenant-Governor, Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell CB CBE and Mrs Cripwell to the community centre as they continue to learn about their island home.

Headway, The Guernsey Community Foundation, the Health Improvement Commission and the KGV team all operate from the site, with each doing vital work for the community.

Stuart Falla, retiring Chair, and Jonathan Creasey, new Chair of the Friends of KGV Limited, informed His Excellency and Mrs Cripwell about the history and transformation of the grounds when they visited recently. 

His Excellency remarked that “everything that is good about Guernsey is there”.

“I was especially impressed with the interconnectivity on show, not just within the building but in the way links have been forged with the broader community… the whole package really is first class.”

Pictured: His Excellency was installed in early 2022. 

Headway supports islanders and their families who are living with the long-term effects of brain injury. His Excellency and his wife met Executive Director Philippa Stahelin and Services Director Orla-Marie Manning and said they saw how members were overcoming serious challenges, dealing with barriers, and accepting their new lives following injuries.

The Commission works to empower, enable and encourage healthy living though five workstreams, ‘Eat Well’, ‘Healthier Weight’, ‘Be Active’, ‘Substance Use’ and ‘Bailiwick Social Prescribing’. 

His Excellency and Mrs Cripwell met Chief Executive Officer, Dr Simon Sebire and leads from each workstream who presented their individual work to improve health. The guests asked questions and learned about the different approaches taken and were very interested in Bailiwick Social Prescribing’s influence in the community.

Finally, His Excellency and Mrs Cripwell met former Bailiff Sir Richard Collas and Jim Roberts, Chair and Chief Executive respectively of the Guernsey Community Foundation and the rest Foundation team.

The Foundation awards grants to charities, supports the third sector and undertakes social policy projects. The pair were keen to hear about the challenges facing the third sector and interested in finding out more about the actions being taken by the Foundation following the publication of its homelessness report, which they were already familiar with.

Pictured (top): The Cripwells at KGV. Credit: Chris George.