In brief: Jersey charity Les Amis has officially opened Maison des Amis, a new five-bedroom specialist care facility for Islanders with learning disabilities who have additional needs due to age or dementia. The project, more than a decade in the making, was opened by the Lieutenant-Governor, Vice-Admiral Sir Jerry Kyd, and was funded through £3.5 million raised by the charity itself.
A Decade in the Making
When Shaun Findlay, managing director of Les Amis, describes the road to Maison des Amis as “a journey of slightly over a decade”, he is not exaggerating. The Jersey Evening Post reports that the charity, which has been supporting and empowering Islanders with learning disabilities since 1975, has steadily expanded its capabilities over the years, with each new chapter building on the last.
The story begins with Mourant Lodge, an adult respite centre that opened in 2014. Les Amis then pursued an ambitious plan to convert the former Hampshire Hotel into a multi-service facility, only for the government to conclude the scheme was too large. That led to a rethink. “We just basically deconstructed the larger model and made it into smaller models,” Mr Findlay explained. The result was Leslie Norman Court at the Limes, a block of apartments enabling adults with learning disabilities to live independently while retaining access to community and support, which was unveiled in 2024.
It was at that point that Les Amis announced a fundraising campaign for Maison des Amis. The charity had already raised £1 million to purchase the property on Rue de Bechet, and went on to raise a further £2.5 million to complete the development. Construction began in June last year, and the facility was officially opened last month by the Lieutenant-Governor, Vice-Admiral Sir Jerry Kyd.
What Maison des Amis Provides
The new five-bedroom facility is designed to offer higher nursing care for Islanders who have additional needs arising from age or dementia. Crucially, it allows those already within the Les Amis family to remain there as their needs increase, receiving the specialist medical and nursing support they require without having to move to an entirely different provider. For families navigating the difficult terrain of ageing and dementia, that continuity of care is no small thing.
Les Amis currently supports around 100 adult Islanders at any one time through its residential, domiciliary and respite services. The opening of Maison des Amis represents, in Mr Findlay’s words, a “significant milestone” for the organisation.
Building an Organisation Fit for Purpose
Mr Findlay, who has been with Les Amis for around two decades, is candid about how much the charity itself has changed during that time. “We were communicating with fax machines when I started working there,” he told the Jersey Evening Post. Alongside a subsequent digital transformation, he points to a “massive investment” in workforce as among the most important developments. “If we can’t get that right for human beings that we employ, how can we expect to do it for the people we serve?” he said.
He also reflects on a shift in public recognition. When he joined, Les Amis was not widely understood or promoted. Today, he says, “everybody understands what Les Amis is. They understand what our goals are and what our mission is.” For a charity serving what Mr Findlay describes as “probably the most vulnerable group in society”, that visibility matters enormously.
Looking ahead, Mr Findlay is clear that the charity has no intention of resting on its laurels. He notes growing demand for sheltered accommodation, as well as increasing awareness among families of the support available. “We’re already thinking about what we need to do in the next five, ten, 15 years,” he said, adding that it would be “very complacent” to assume that opening two or three good provisions is sufficient. “Society moves on, so we need to as well.”
Source: Jersey Evening Post
