Ordinary life stories

All of our work is rooted in the belief that no one is too disabled and no one’s mental health is too complex to lead an ‘ordinary life’. Whatever our area of work, the drive for people to lead ordinary lives is at the heart of our approach. An ordinary life, first coined by the King’s Fund in their seminal report An Ordinary Life (Kings Fund 1980), promoted the concept that people with learning disabilities should live in ordinary houses, in ordinary streets and be part of ordinary communities. Kings Fund. (1980). An Ordinary Life: Comprehensive locally based residential services for mentally handicapped people,  London: Kings Fund.

We often take for granted certain things such as having a partner, a good job, or living in our own home. These are ordinary and everyday things that make up our life. Disabled people and people with lived experience of mental health difficulties are often faced with barriers which make these everyday, ordinary things very difficult to achieve. Some of these barriers may be internal, but more often than not society places barriers in the way of individuals. These barriers can be other people’s attitudes, a lack of creative thinking or physical barriers.

We know that an ordinary life is achievable for everyone. The stories below illustrate just that.