The Duchess of Edinburgh has taken on a new royal patronage supporting people with disabilities in Scotland.
Her Royal Highness has become Royal Patron of Visualise Scotland, an Edinburgh-based charity providing care and support services to people with disabilities across Edinburgh and East Lothian.
The organisation, which was established in 1987, initially focused on supporting people with visual impairments before expanding its work to support people with a wider range of disabilities.
The Duchess’s new role reflects her longstanding interest in supporting people with physical, social and visual disabilities.
Pauline Gray, CEO of Visualise Scotland, said the charity was “honoured and proud” that the Duchess had agreed to become its Royal Patron.
She added that the patronage would support the organisation’s mission to provide outstanding services to people with disabilities through housing support, supported living and a range of day services.
Visualise Scotland was founded by families of pupils attending the Royal Blind School at Canaan Lane in Edinburgh.
At the time, families faced a lack of suitable provision for young people with visual impairments and other complex needs after they reached the age of 18.
The charity opened its first housing support service in Edinburgh’s Newington area in 1992, before establishing its first day centre at Norton Park in Leith during the 1990s.
Its services continued to expand during the following decades, including the opening of a day centre in Musselburgh in 2014.
That expansion also marked a significant change in the charity’s work, as Visualise moved beyond its original focus on visual impairment to support people with disabilities more broadly.
Today, the charity provides Housing Support, Care at Home and Day Services, with the people it supports placed at the centre of its work.
Visualise Scotland says its aim is to promote dignity and quality of life while empowering people with disabilities to live the lives they choose.
The charity also retains strong links with the families who founded it, with family members continuing to serve as trustees.
The Duchess of Edinburgh has developed a wide portfolio of work supporting people with disabilities, as well as causes involving health, children and young people and international development.
Her new patronage will see her support the work of Visualise Scotland as it continues to provide services to disabled people and their families across Edinburgh and East Lothian.
