FCHA's Community Involvement Grant (CIG) is available for projects that positively impact tenants, people with a learning disability or their communities. Recently, we contributed £500 to Hijinx, an inclusive theatre company, creating performances with learning disabled and/or autistic artists on stage and on screen.
CIG Funding supported the room hire costs of Hijinx’s Cardiff-based community and outreach groups for learning disabled and/or autistic people. This included: Odyssey, the inclusive community theatre group for adults; Telemachus, the only young people’s theatre group for learning disabled and/or autistic people aged 16-24 in South Wales; the in-house inclusive band Vaguely Artistic; and 3 Cardiff-based Drama Foundations supporting life-skills development for adults with complex learning disabilities.
The people who took part included:
27 adults with and without learning disabilities through Odyssey
14 learning disabled and/or autistic young people aged 16–24 through Telemachus
10 adults with and without learning disabilities through our inclusive band Vaguely Artistic
36 adults with complex learning disabilities through three Drama Foundations groups
In addition to members, Hijinx reaches communities through performances, with over 1,000 audience members experiencing their community work. This included 658 people attending Odyssey’s 2025 Christmas production, Christmas No.1, and more, purchasing their first ever charity single: The Spirit of Christmas
All community groups and performances are open and accessible to anyone who wants to take part, regardless of skill level or experience, and are therefore available to all First Choice tenants.
Hijinx collaborate with a range of arts and disability-focused partners to support effective outreach to the learning disabled community, including Arts CARE, Vision21, Learning Disability Wales, Mencap, DAC, Gig Buddies, Unlimited, Taking Flight, Hynt, and Get the Chance, helping ensure opportunities are widely promoted and inclusive.
In 2019, a young person joined one of Hijinx’s community groups. Before joining Hijinx they were isolated and anxious. They have now progressed from Telemachus to Odyssey and are thriving. They’ve found their voice, their friends, and their place on stage.
“I love acting and performing and I can do it at Hijinx. Everyone there is also very nice and helpful. I have gained confidence in talking to people and performing in front of them. It allowed me to achieve my dream of performing on the stage.”
(Odyssey Member)
We would like to thank Hijinx for all of the information they sent over highlighting just how far contributions to their theatre company goes. It's great to see a direct benefit to people with a learning disability and/or autism across Wales and how it opens up opportunities for people in the community to watch productions that they may not have had the opportunity to see without Hijinx.
If you know of an organisation that could benefit from First Choices' Community Involvement Grant you can contact us to provide more information:
Email: customerservices@fcha.org.uk
Phone: 02920 703 758