2003

• Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council started to deliver a safe trader scheme to promote independence at home for vulnerable people, forming part of the local authorities’ preventative agenda.

2007

• Care Network (Blackburn with Darwen) Ltd. was registered as an independent charitable company and company limited by guarantee.

2013

• Care Network begin the Achieving Self Care (ASC) pilot project exploring how to develop self care skills in people with long term health conditions. 

2014

• Care Network began to have sole responsibility for delivering the Your Support Your Choice centre, an information hub located in the town centre for health and wellbeing options available to people locally.
• The Safe Trader Scheme continues to grow from strength to strength.

2015 

• Third Party Hate Crime reporting relaunches at Care Network Hub formerly Your Support Your Choice
• Invited to represent third sector partners on the Transforming Lives programme in order to ensure effective support from the sector to local citizens    
• Significant increases in participating partners and residents accessing Care Network Hub formerly Your Support Your Choice

2016

• Care Network achieved Home Improvement Agency status.
• A new vision and mission statement is developed to further support the changes, growth and local demand for Care Network services.
• Achieving Self Care pilot project comes to an end with successful results and the evidence to support continued funding. 

2017

• Care Network take on the boroughs Learning Disability Partnership Board and Autism Partnership Board to make sure that good support and services are being developed and improved for people with learning disabilities, and/ or autism and their carer’s.
• Care Network rebrands and 'Your Support Your Choice shop' is renamed 'Care Network Hub'.
• Keeping Well Project funding is secured to continue to embed self-care approaches in people with long term health conditions or other complex needs and vulnerabilities, in Partnership with Age UK Blackburn with Darwen and Lancashire Mind. 

2018

• Care Network Hub volunteer Stephen Sharp was awarded Volunteer of the Year award 2018 (across Blackburn with Darwen).
• The Garfield Weston Foundation and Pilotlight selected Care Network as one of 20 award winners nationally.
• In July Care Network was awarded the national Collaboration Award at the annual Home Improvement Agency (HIA) awards which was held at the House of Lords.

2019 - 2021

• With the onset of Covid, both local residents and Care Network faced unprecedented challenges.
• Despite having to adapt and comply with changing rules and directives during the pandemic Care Network was able to continue to provide quality services to the local residents.
• We continued to successfully support increasing numbers of vulnerable residents. Our staff made welfare calls and sent welfare emails to 2,500 of our most vulnerable customers and we supported 542 resident households though the BwD Help Hub, many of which were new to Care Network.

2021

• We successfully delivered the Covid Community Champions Programme where we supported over 300 local residents with a learning disability or autism to confidently share important information with friends and family. The project also helped to tackle misinformation and encourage take-up of the vaccination programme.

2022

• Care Network successfully won £10,000 at a Dragon’s Den style event working in partnership with Healthwatch BwD, BwD Carers and Wot Wud U Do (a social enterprise based in Blackpool).
• We rolled out a new pilot project, creating opportunities for our Community Champions with lived experience of Learning Disabilities and Autism to share their real experiences of growing up.
• We developed a bespoke training package around this, and then support our Champions to deliver the training to young SEND (14 to 16-year-old) students at Crosshills School in Blackburn.

2023

• We launched our monthly Hear us Heroes group where local residents with a Learning Disability or Autism come together to talk about things that affect their lives and to advise others about how their lives can be improved.
• Care Network successfully secured 3 year funding in a £200,000 grant from the Cadent Foundation to help some of the borough’s most vulnerable households stay safe and warm.

2024

• We continued to play an active part in rolling out the Household Support Fund across the borough in working closely with a range of partners to support local residents. 

2025

• Early 2025 we relocated all out teams back to Blackburn Library, leaving the Hub premises. 
• We secured 3 year funding from the Community Fund to deliver our Hear Us Heroes project supporting local residents with learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity.