Our Story

We decided we would have an equal leadership team that would act jointly as a Chief Executive Officer – and that would include someone with learning disabilities.

We continue to be led by an equal leadership team some 28 years later, and we’ve evolved our lived experience leadership model over the years to ensure people with learning disabilities are at the forefront of decision-making within our organisation.

The beginning

Whilst the foundations of Thera were driven by change in Lincolnshire – supporting people to move on from institutional care into their own home in the local community – the first people we supported lived in Cambridgeshire.

We met five people who were supported in a single household, which was being ran as a residential care home. The owners were retiring, and the individuals were due to be moved into vacancies in other care homes.

Three of the people were very able to say that’s not what they wanted, and they could advocate on behalf of the other two people because they had lived together for a long time.

Thera offered to take on the support. We said we would meet with people so we could get to know each other, but we weren’t happy with it being a residential care home as that wasn’t our vision for the future.

We believed that change was on the horizon and set out our approach for the future: we would ask a social landlord to buy the house with an agreement that when they could, they would offer tenancies to the individuals, and we would provide the staff and support.

Charlie, Tina, Christine, Kevin and Lee officially became the first people supported by Thera Trust on 1 September 1998.

We’ve continued to build on this approach over the years and take pride in our established “getting to know you” process. By getting to know each other well, we gain a better understanding of what a person truly needs and wants from their support – helping them to live a great life.

Why “Thera”?

When we were setting up our organisation, we didn’t want our name or approach to become a label for the people we support, so we thought very carefully about these things. Our name and logo are inspired by the story of Thira, the ancient Greek name for Santorini.

Thira was a bustling maritime community where people lived wonderful lives, but it was badly affected by a volcanic eruption. The people worked hard to rebuild their lives, and this inspired us to always try to help people with learning disabilities to build a great life for themselves within a thriving community.

We took inspiration for our logo from a painting found in the West House building, which shows a pod of dolphins leaping amongst fleets of ships and a buzz of community activity. Dolphins are symbolic of joy, energy, freedom, resilience and community – which are reflective of our approach and values.

Empowering people with learning disabilities to lead and live great lives

After 27 years, we decided it was time to review our vision. We sought feedback from the people we support, families and friends, our staff and trustees on a new vision and the mission and impact pillars that would guide our work, as well as defining our values.

In 2026, we adopted our new vision, mission and values. To support our ambitious new approach, we also refreshed our brand, building upon our organisation’s story. It takes influence from modern day Santorini, Greek art history and sun shapes – representing positivity, energy and new beginnings. The dolphin in our logo is shown emerging from choppy waves, symbolising overcoming adversity.

We believe our new vision, mission and values along with our refreshed brand will support us to amplify the voices of people with learning disabilities. We’re looking forward to the future, influencing change by working collaboratively in our local communities and across the sector to make this happen!

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