Project Theme: Participating in anything

There are some things that can help disabled people to participate fully and equally in anything and everything.  Sometimes these things can be essential, if this is to happen.

Peer support: Disabled people can support each other by sharing their experiences and their learning. They can support each other to develop their own ways of living their lives. They can encourage each other to pursue their hopes and dreams. This form of support can be very helpful in relation to social life, or work, or public life.

Choice and control: Disabled people want freedom to make their own decisions about where and how they live. This is sometimes called having ‘self-determination’ or having ‘autonomy’. How can the laws disabled people have to protect their rights to these things be better exercised? Could things be done to strengthen those rights? There are some situations where disabled people’s choice and control can be particularly important – and particularly likely not to be respected. This includes things like being admitted to care homes, or when a person’s mental capacity is questioned.  What can be done about this?

Accessible information: You cannot participate in the economy, or your local community, or public life if information about all those activities is not accessible to you. What needs to be done to address this?

Within the theme of participating in “anything else” we are now particularly interested in solutions that:

• improves wellbeing (impact on family life and relationships)
• provides improved transport
• reduces poverty.