A Lochaber charity supporting children with autism and other special needs has ended after two years of funding finally stopped yesterday.
The Active Healthy Achieving Futures (AHA) project in Fort William had been supporting 15-25 year olds and their families in the Lochaber area and had a cafe operating in the town.
Lynn MacAllister, one of the project members, said: “This has been a great period and we have hopefully helped enhance the lives of young adults with autism and special needs in the area.
“We are proud of what we have achieved.
“We were quite an innovative project helping young people make the transition from High School into society.
“The idea was to enhance life skills and social skills, which I believe we have done.
“I have seen a lot of progress in the young people, particularly in relation to boosting self-esteem.
“We have seen people in our group get part-time jobs and learning to drive, which is fantastic.”
The youngsters involved in the scheme worked in a series of blocks alongside three community projects to learn new skills, meet people and create a better future.
Lynn said the aim of the experience was to unlock the potential of each person involved, and enhance their life skills to help them achieve employability.
The project was the result of a partnership between NHS Highland, Highland Council and a series of third and voluntary sector organisations and had received around £25,000 of Government funding.
However, it has now come to an end after three years.
Lynn added: “We will unfortunately not be continuing now the funding has stopped, but hopefully the work we have done will continue to benefit those we have helped in the community.”
