People who receive help from the Scarborough-based Cambridge Centre charity have been reassured that the services they use will continue unaffected as it merges with larger charity DISC at Aycliffe.
The Cambridge Centre is merging with the Northern charity, DISC, one of the North’s most innovative social care providers.
The two organisations have worked closely together on North Yorkshire substance misuse services for the past eighteen months. They have been in merger talks since last summer.
Nikki Orrell, of the Cambridge Centre said: “This merger is good news for our service users. We have made sure that service users will not be affected as we move forward. All the services we run will carry on as normal.” Ms Orrell said services would continue to be run at the Women’s Community Project on Northway in Scarborough.
And she said: “We are delighted to take a really good partnership into a more strategic alliance that allows us to deliver greater social value in North Yorkshire and use the experience and skills of The Cambridge Centre to develop our housing, specialist women’s and offender services.”
Paul Townsley, Chief Executive of DISC – Developing Initiatives Supporting Communities – said the merger would benefit existing service users and create the potential to help more people. He said: “To fully achieve the strategic ambitions of both organisations and whilst in a strong position, it was felt a good time to merge.”
The organisations have worked with funders of the services to ensure their views were fully considered in the plans, and consultations are on-going with affected staff.
Both charities have been working since the mid-1980s to provide services for the vulnerable and disadvantaged in local communities.  DISC currently employs 450 staff from its headquarters in County Durham, and in service provision across the North East, Yorkshire, the Humber and the North West. Services include those for children and young people, LGBT support, housing services, offender rehabilitation and drug and alcohol misuse programmes.
The Cambridge Centre has a twenty nine year history of providing high quality drug, alcohol, women’s and offender services to the community within North Yorkshire.