Kari Gerstheimer

Access Social Care is a national charity founded and led by chief executive Kari Gerstheimer, and has been named Social Care Legal Advisory Firm of the Year in England at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025. The organisation partners with communities to champion social care justice, improving lives through rights education, legal advice and training, innovation and data insight, and addressing a significant gap in access to legal support for those seeking the care to which they are entitled.

Kari Gerstheimer established Access Social Care to create a national legal service that did not belong to a single charity but served the whole disability and social care sector. The organisation grew out of a pilot programme that began within Mencap in 2018 before becoming an independent registered charity in 2020. As CEO, Gerstheimer leads an organisation built on the conviction that people should be able to understand and enforce their rights under the law, and that reliable legal information and advice should be available to those who need it most.

The charity's work centres on free legal advice and support concerning social care rights, delivered alongside legal rights training for organisations, telephone-based advice and an online information service. It also invests in data insight and research into social care legal issues, using the intelligence gathered through its casework to identify systemic problems and to press for wider improvements. This blend of direct advice, education and evidence-led advocacy allows Access Social Care to help individuals while also working to strengthen the system as a whole.

Those it serves include older people, disabled people and carers across England who need help accessing their social care entitlements, particularly under the Care Act 2014. Navigating social care law can be daunting for people who are often already coping with illness, disability or caring responsibilities, and legal aid in this area is limited. By providing accessible, specialist advice and clear rights information, the charity empowers individuals and families to challenge decisions and secure the support they are owed.

Social care legal advisory work of this kind combines technical knowledge of community care law with a strong public-interest mission, requiring both legal rigour and a deep understanding of the needs of vulnerable people. Access Social Care's model — pairing frontline advice with training, technology and data — reflects an innovative approach to meeting demand at scale. The Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025 recognition as Social Care Legal Advisory Firm of the Year in England affirms the impact of the charity and its founder, Kari Gerstheimer, in advancing social care justice.