Community Connecting Feedback from young people who took part in Common Ground, a community connecting project for young disabled people and young people with mental health difficulties. Expand As an organisation who has always worked in coproduction with young people, we know that young disabled people and young people with lived experience of mental health difficulties are at a greater risk of social isolation and loneliness, due to the barriers put in place by society, than their non-disabled peers. These barriers are further increased in Black Minority Ethnic (BME) communities due to factors including cultural stigma and reduced access to services. Through the Common Ground project we met many extraordinary people who found their own solutions to youth loneliness. “When Changing Our Lives introduced me to Javid, I knew his face. We go to the same mosque and I have also attended his training sessions in the past. I had never discussed with Javid my interest in becoming a football coach, but the interview was a great chance to do this. Javid was happy to give me the chance to volunteer for the team and even discussed the possibility of paid work in the future. I was happy to finally start working properly and using my skills!” Bilaal "I read a poem about the barriers I face and found that this encouraged people to approach me and ask questions. It also helped me make connections with other poets and get invited to perform at other events. I feel that the experience has benefited me, as it has given me the opportunity to share my work with others and to prove that blindness does not stop me from achieving anything I put my mind to." Saima
Rights based advocacy Feedback from a family member of an individual in institutionalised care, who we are providing rights based advocacy for. Expand "Thank you so much for championing her cause so passionately - it means so much to us - you will always hold a special place in our hearts." Family member
Person centred planning Peter Beard, Senior Commissioning Officer for learning disabilities and carers in West London CCG, reflects on the impact of Changing Our Lives' focus on ordinary lives. Expand "As a commissioner working with Changing Our Lives I have found the experience to be truly inspirational and transformational. The rights based work has really brought to life the individual, their abilities and how we can support people with learning disabilities to live an ordinary life. Working with Changing Our Lives has not only shown me the potential that people with learning disabilities have to thrive in their local communities, but has reframed my expectations of my role as a commissioner. Thank you for opening my eyes to the responsibility that I hold for ensuring an ordinary life for people with learning disabilities." Peter Beard, Senior Commissioning Officer Learning Disabilities and CarersWest London CCG
Leadership development in schools Feedback from a school following a leadership development programme that we ran with young people with the label of SEND. Expand “Thank you for organising the evening. The kids absolutely loved it. Preparation for Adulthood in a nutshell. I look forward to continuing to work with such an inspirational and passionate organisation.” Assistant Head Teacher
Person centred planning After person centred planning with an individual in institutionalised care, we received the following feedback from a family member. Expand "I am truly overwhelmed and moved by the personal report of D’s life. It's beautiful and wonderful seeing him being placed in the centre of his own life." Family member
Young People's Challenge Board Meredith Teasdale, the Director of Education in Wolverhampton, shared praise for Wolverhampton Challenge Board’s first piece of strategic work. Expand "I would like to thank everyone involved in producing the Ordinary Lives paper. It is very powerful. It sets out clearly the expectation that every child, young person and young adult should have an ordinary life. It sets out a challenge to all professionals that we should be working to ensure this, as well as making sure that we have high aspirations for all our children, young people and young adults." Meredith Teasdale, Director of Education, City of Wolverhampton Council
Person centred planning Feedback from Wolverhampton CCG and a social worker after we supported young disabled people and their families in Wolverhampton to design their own individualised support around their strengths and preferences. Expand ‘Working in this way with young people and their families has been fantastic and an eye opener for us: really getting to know someone, rather than just focussing on a list of needs to be met by a set menu of service solutions, opens up a whole range of options and possibilities that leads to imaginative and creative thinking about how the young person can be supported to develop their independence, achieve their goals and have better lives. For some young people this can mean the difference between a segregated life in services that are not tailored to the individual and are often very expensive, and an ordinary full life in the community.’ Maxine Danks, Head of Service, Individual Care Team, Wolverhampton CCG “I have been qualified for 8 years and I started out thinking about people first and what I could do to help. Somewhere over the years I have lost that focus and I don’t know when or why. Today has really reminded me of why I started out in social work and I will make sure I see the person before the process from now on!” Social Worker, Wolverhampton City Council
Arts in schools We use poetry to enable young people to express themselves and challenge injustice. Here is feedback from ‘Express Yourself!’ and ‘Poet’s First!’, two poetry projects in schools. Expand Express Yourself The Express Yourself project, funded by an NHS England grant, utilised poetry as a medium to discuss emotional wellbeing with young people with learning disabilities. Four young people with learning disabilities were supported to co-facilitate workshops with 16 of their peers where issues relating to emotional wellbeing were explored. Then young people spent time with a performance poet looking at important words and meanings and incorporating these into poems. The poet used beatboxing and young people danced and clapped along, performing their own beatboxing and learning about rhythm and rhyme in poetry. “I’ve just looked at the Express Yourself book online… Genuinely have a tear in my eye. Fabulous stuff. I love the way there is so much about the process of communicating and creating woven in with so much about what makes the people individual. With a background in support work with people who have significant barriers to communication, this feels really true – getting to know people, building up a relationship with them, is so much about working together on communication; and getting it right is a shared joy, and a privilege to be part of.” Thomas Chalk, a Learning Disability Network Manager from NHS England Poets First Working alongside a performance poet, young disabled people took part in poetry workshops and poetry slams across Sandwell and Wolverhampton and produced their own book of poetry called “Poets First!” This body of poetry, funded by a Clore Duffield Poetry and Literature Award, speaks of bullying, racism, teenage pregnancy, education and depression. The book is entitled Poets First because young people wanted to be acknowledged as poets, rather than disabled, first. “I have never seen this class so engaged and interested in literature. I will definitely see my students in a different light now!” English Teacher “The workshop has had such a positive impact on the students. I’m shocked to have heard such emotional and personal poems. It is important that their voices are heard and using poetry is a creative and engaging way to do this.” Head Teacher
Young People's Challenge Board Feedback from the launch of the Wolverhampton Challenge Board's white paper on ‘An Ordinary Life’, which set out young people’s aspirations for the future. Expand "Just to say congratulations on your event launch and thank you for the invitation. It was wonderful to hear the young people talk with such passion and confidence. I found it very moving when they spoke about the labels that had defined them but then the beautiful butterflies emerged. I was overwhelmed to see Dan chairing the event. He is a remarkable and inspirational young man who I have known since he was 6! I’ve always known he’d go on to great things. I’m really looking forward to working with you as you push the agenda forward, count me in as a partner." Lucy Harris, manager of Wolverhampton Information, Advice and Support Service