What's happening
Festival Access Recycling Team
Want to do volunteering work at music festivals? Find out more by downloading this information about the Festival Access Recycling Team, you can also download this list of coming festivals they will be working at.
Beverley Lewis House
Beverley Lewis House is a national safe house for women with learning
disabilities who have experienced abuse in the past or are at risk of abuse.
We work closely with the woman, safeguarding adults teams, child protection
teams, the Police and any professionals involved to manage safeguarding issues.
We support women who are pregnant and may have had their children adopted.
There is a telephone referral system and we offer emergency accommodation. Women
can stay up to 2 years and we have 24 hour support, providing practical,
emotional and psychological support to enable women to address and understand
the abuse they have experienced, working at their own pace. We also access
relevant services in the community relating to the woman's' needs addressing the
abuse.
Each woman has a key worker and we run many life skills workshops to build
self-esteem and confidence such as: budget management, maintaining a tenancy and
employment etc.
Please see our brochure
which
you can download and print out. Please feel free to contact us if you have
any queries.
Beverley Lewis House
Tel: 0207 473 2813
Email: blh@east-living.co.uk
www.east-living.co.uk/blh
East Living
29-35 West Ham Lane
Stratford, London E15 4PH
Do you enjoy Singing, Dancing and Acting?
Moveable Feast, the inclusive drama company, have launched Stage Schools for people with Learning Disabilities,
their brothers and sisters, and friends
They
will be
Centres of Excellence for people who
want to fulfil their dreams of being involved in fantastic drama and performing
arts. They are offering weekend stage schools, evening classes and full time
academies for people looking to develop their talents. They hope to be able to
offer qualifications once the schools are set up.
There is already a school in Lincoln - contact Joanne Bekis to register on 07532 008120 and Rebekah Cairns for the West Midlands on 07532 008142. More schools across the UK are planned.
Call them now or go to the Moveable Feast website.
STOP PRESS: New inclusive stage schools to open in Birmingham!
The Internationally renowned inclusive theatre company ‘Moveable Feast’ is to
open its first ‘Mixit Stageschools’ in Birmingham. The schools will offer people
of all ages with disabilities, siblings and friends the opportunity to be
involved in high quality drama and to put on shows at their local theatres. The
classes will give students new confidence and independence and the opportunity
to meet new friends and be part of the local community.
Com and register at their free Open day at ‘The Public’ West Bromwich, on
Thursday 22nd April, 10am – 3pm where you can meet the team before registering.
The world’s first inclusive pop group, Mixit, will perform through the day
together with music and dance workshops. If you can’t make it on the 22nd April,
don’t worry you can register by phone, details below.
Details of classes:
• Students can register for a ‘show off’ session in May, details to be
confirmed.
• There will be evening and weekend classes and academies are planned.
• People are already registering for these so don’t miss out!
To find out more about fees and hours contact Rebekah Cairns, Development
Worker, Mixit Stageschools, South.
phone: 01926 430 287
mobile: 07532 008142
http://www.mixitmusic.co.uk/contact.php
How to find 'The Public' in West Bromwich:
http://www.thepublic.com/index.php/contact/
There is ample parking, 40p an hour, £1.20 for the day.
Download
a copy of the Mixit Stageschool information leaflet.
Hate Crime – BILD’s response to the cross-government Action Plan
The Government has published an
Action Plan for tackling hate crime.
Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, identifies in the foreword to the Action Plan
that “hate crime is a human rights issue, a threat to community cohesion and a
rejection of our shared values. Our society is strong when our communities are
strong and communities thrive when they are united by positive values they
share. Values like fairness, respect, democracy and the rule of law.”
Unfortunately, the need for this action plan has been reinforced by the sad and
totally unnecessary deaths of Fiona and Francesca Pilkington. Their daily
harassment was hate crime, and should not be viewed as simply the ordinary
problems of community living.
Read more about BILD's response, available to download here.
The Government's Action Plan can be downloaded here. There is an easy read version you can download here.
New interactive DVD for adults with learning disabilities
The
'Abuse – Tell Someone' DVD gives information on your rights to keep you
safe from harm and abuse
- helps you understand what abuse is, and to know what to do if abuse happens to
you or someone else you know.
For more information contact Learning Disability Wales, on 029 2068 1160 or
visit the Learning
Disability Wales website.
An imaginative, interactive social care board game
A
new board game designed to be played by anyone involved in the Putting People
First or Transforming Social Care government agenda, a huge programme of change
in public services. The game has been designed and developed by Gill Phillips,
someone with many years experience in the field of social services.
'Whose Shoes', which staff at BILD have played and can recommend, is a Learning
and Development tool and aims to help anyone who is interested to know more
about the real issues and concerns involved in delivering the requirements of
transformation to person-centred planning.
For more information visit the
nutshell
communications website.
Clear vision to tackle sight problems among disabled
The Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland has a prominent feature in The Herald (it's the lead story in the 'Society section) on the high incidence of sight problems among people with a learning disability, often undiagnosed.... here

Sign up to support the Coalition
If you haven't already written to your MP calling for
better funding for services for people with learning disabilities, it would be
really helpful if you could do so. You just need to enter some very brief
details about yourself
on their website.
There is a link to an accessible version of the action at the top of the page.
Become a supporter organisation of the Coalition
As a supporter organisation of the Coalition, they will put your badge on their
website and keep you up to date with the Coalition's work. For more information,
please email
info@learningdisabilitycoalition.org.uk
Deprivation of Liberties Safeguards publications
The
Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of
Liberty safeguards (formerly known as
the Bournewood safeguards) were
introduced into the Mental Capacity Act
2005 through the Mental Health Act 2007
(which received Royal Assent in July
2007).
The MCA DOL safeguards apply to anyone:
- aged 18 and over who suffers from a mental disorder or
disability of the mind, such as
dementia or a profound learning
disability
- who lacks the capacity to give
informed consent to the arrangements
made for their care and / or treatment
and
- for whom deprivation of liberty
(within the meaning of Article 5 of the
ECHR) is considered after an independent
assessment to be necessary in their best
interests to protect them from harm.
The safeguards cover patients in
hospitals, and people in care homes
registered under the Care Standards Act
2000, whether placed under public or
private arrangements
The aim is to implement the safeguards
in April 2009. The safeguards are
designed to protect the interests of an
extremely vulnerable group of service
users and to:
- ensure people can be given the care
they need in the least restrictive
regimes
- prevent arbitrary decisions that
deprive vulnerable people of their
liberty
- provide safeguards for vulnerable
people
- provide them with rights of challenge
against unlawful detention
- avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.
There are two
publications, funded by the Department
of Health and produced by BILD, which
you can download in .pdf format:
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
and You and
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Guide
for families and carers.
Also available from the Department of Health website are
easy read publications about Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards in basic and
expanded versions, as well as a video version.
'Six Lives: the provision of public services to people with learning disabilities'
BILD welcomes ‘ an honest report’ but has doubts about how real change will be made to happen for people with a learning disability
An independent report, ‘Six Lives: the provision of public services to people with learning disabilities’, was published 24th March by the Health Service and Local Government Ombudsmen. Focusing on investigations into the deaths of six individuals, it calls for an urgent review of health and social care for people with learning disabilities. The report revealed:
-
Significant and distressing failures in service across health and social care;
-
One person died as a consequence of public service failure. It is likely the death of another individual could have been avoided, had the care and treatment provided not fallen so far below the relevant standards.
-
People with learning disabilities experienced prolonged suffering and poor care, and some of these failures were for disability related reasons;
-
Some public bodies failed to live up to human rights principles, especially those of dignity and equality;
-
Many organisations responded inadequately to the complaints made against them which left family members feeling drained and demoralised.
For more information and BILD's response in full
click here.
Live with a healthy heart
Coronary
heart disease is the second biggest cause of premature death in people with
learning disabilities.
Live with a healthy heart is a DVD and booklet for people with learning
disabilities. Produced by the British Heart Foundation, it can be used by people
with learning disabilities or by support workers and health professionals to
educate individuals about their lifestyles and how to live with a healthy heart.
The booklet that accompanies the DVD reinforces the messages in the individual
stories. It also provides further information about each risk factor and
signposts you to other useful organisations for support.
Like all their resources, the booklet
and DVD are free, though the British Heart Foundation do accept donations.
An information leaflet about the booklet is
available to download in .pdf format.
Build for the Future contribute to Government
Learning Disability Employment Strategy
Build
for the Future is an advisory group of people with learning disabilities, their
carers and supporters established by BILD in 2006. The 30 strong group meet
regularly through the year to help develop BILD and take a view on issues that
matter to people with learning disabilities.
The Department of Health and the Cabinet Office had issued a short Call for
Evidence to inform the learning disability employment strategy to be published
this Spring, with the deadline for submissions on 11 March, the same day as
Build for the Future met.
As a result, more than 20 Build for the Future members, carers and supporters
worked together in groups to provide answers to the questions posed by the
consultation. Each group spent ten minutes on each of the five questions, and
ideas and suggestions were noted on flip chart sheets that were swapped between
the groups.
That same afternoon everyone's comments were typed up and sent off to the
Department of Health. If you want to see Build for the Future's submission, you
can see it
as a Word document, or
as a .pdf file.

'Doing it Your Way' team wins award
Congratulations to the Worcestershire County Council 'Doing It Your Way' team
who have won the 'Transforming Services Award' at the West Midlands Health and
Social Care Awards 2009. The pilot project has empowered people with learning
difficulties to shape their own support package by giving them a personal
budget.
As the judges' comment put it: 'a radical approach which is achieving
fundamental change in a short space of time and delivering a broad range of
positive outcomes.'
The
project, a joint approach between Worcestershire CC, BILD and Mencap has resulted
in increased independence and better health for users and carers among the 75
adults involved with the project. The scheme will now be a blueprint for the
roll out of personalised services across Worcestershire.
The pilot project report is
available to
download as a .pdf file.
Race equality in
practice resource pack
Supporting Advocates Working With Cultural Diversity
Produced
by North Wales Race Equality Network as part of the British Institute for
Learning Disabilities and the Welsh Assembly Government Advocacy Grants
Programme.
“A ‘colour-blind’ approach, or assertion that ‘we treat everyone the same’, is
often operated within organisations. Such statements may, however, disguise the
fact that organisations have either not considered the needs of minority ethnic
communities or have chosen to ignore them.
The resulting lack of attention to meeting the needs of ethnic minorities has
the consequence of underdeveloped policies and the lack of any mechanisms by
which their needs can be explored and change effected. The ‘colour-blind’
approach has been shown to foster stereotypes and racist attitudes towards
minority ethnic communities.
What is needed, instead, is an approach which moves away from the notion of
‘an average citizen’ to an acknowledgement of the diversity of need and
required services”
Ghazala Mir et al
Learning Difficulties & Ethnicities
Download resource pack
Download workshop evaluations & feedback
Tell it like it is
What
the crisis in social care really means for people with
a learning disability.
This report reflects the experiences of a group of people who are often unheard,
and for whom reality does not match up to the very many promises that have been
made.
Full report
Easy read
version of report
Advisors help get learning disability issues heard
Professionals from across the private, public and voluntary sectors have come together to fight for a fair deal for people with a learning disability. The advisory board has been set up to support the Learning Disability Coalition in its work to raise the profile of learning disability issues in the light of the adult social care green paper.
The group of advisors will provide support for the Coalition by providing objective advice on strategy, policy and profile.
Members of the advisory board span various professions, bringing a breadth of experience to the campaign. They include former senior civil servant Sir Christopher Kelly, who is currently the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Chairman of the Financial Ombudsman Service and Chairman of the NSPCC; Prof Eric Emerson: Professor of Disability and Health Research at the University of Lancaster and Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health at the University of Sydney; David Brindle, Public services editor, Guardian; Dr Stephen Ladyman MP, Labour MP for South Thanet and former Care Services Minister and Transport Minister; Nick Brookes, non-executive director, Next; and Prof. Martin Knapp, Director of the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the London School of Economics, Professor of Social Policy and co-director of LSE Health and Social Care (see full list of members in notes to editors).
Dame Jo Williams, Chair of the Learning Disability Coalition and chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to tap into such a wealth of knowledge. The next few months are vital if we are to ensure that the adult social care green paper delivers for people with a learning disability. We want to make sure the government provides enough public money so that all people with a learning disability have access to good quality care.”
Professor Martin Knapp, a member of the committee, said: "Gathering sound evidence about demographic trends that are causing an increase in demand for services for people with a learning disability is crucial. Without this information, the Government cannot know what level of resource to allocate and how to use this to best effect. Our aim is to work closely with Government. After all, we all have the same aim - a better quality of life for a group of people who are often overlooked."
Page ref: '01headlines' Last updated: 01/07/2010