A charity fun day has raised more than £1,600 towards equipment for people with autism after hundreds of Barnet residents came along to enjoy entertainment and learn more about the disability.
Charity group FLAG (Flower Lane Action Group) hosted the day in partnership with local Mill Hill and Hale Safer Neighbourhoods teams on Saturday 22 September.
Flower Lane is a specialist autism service based in Mill Hill. It is one of six schemes managed by Your Choice Barnet, a local authority trading company established in February 2012.
Entertainment included face painting, a live band, beauty treatments, tombolas and refreshment.
Your Choice Barnet Chief Executive, Tracey Lees, said: “Our Friends groups do a fantastic job in raising money for equipment that enriches the lives of service users and helps us deliver even better support.
“I hope people have also come away from the fun day with a much better understanding of autism. One of the key aims for Your Choice Barnet is promoting independence among service users.
“That means people with autism and other learning disabilities will become increasingly visible in Barnet, so it’s very important for us to raise awareness among the wider public of these kinds of disabilities.”
The London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade also had representatives on duty at the fun day, offering advice, information and tours in their vehicles.
Mill Hill and Hale Safer Neighbourhoods Sergeant John Hourihan added: “It’s been a pleasure to support such a great cause.
“As a local Safer Neighbourhoods Team, working with all of our communities is very important to us. It was so good to see so many people come to the event.
“Our ties with the centre have strengthened over the past few months and we look forward to working with Flower Lane again to support people on the autism spectrum.”