Exploring self-advocacy alongside people with learning disabilities in Somerset

In Somerset we discovered through research that adults with learning disabilities and autism want to have their voices heard and feel listened to. This is often called self-advocacy, which helps people with learning disabilities to speak up and gain more confidence.
Most self-advocacy groups across England are run by adults with learning disabilities and autism, helping to give their peers a voice. Some of these have closed due to funding cuts. But here at Somerset Community Foundation (SCF), we wanted to use funds from our Discovery Community Fund to find a local organisation to explore self-advocacy here in Somerset.
After a successful bid, OpenStoryTellers were awarded £50,000 to embark on this important project. We spoke to the team to find out more.
“As a creative charity that works with artists with learning disabilities, we’re delighted that SCF chose us to carry out this crucial work. We’re passionate about offering routes to self-expression, identity and creativity – and most importantly, opportunities to be heard. We’ve recently started OurSelf Advocacy across Somerset, and although we’re a small team of 4 (Ben, Clemma, Ellie and Joe), we’re already planning to achieve a lot throughout the county.
Picking the right name was important for us. We initially started with YourSelf Advocacy, but we felt that focused too much on the individual. Instead, we opted for OurSelf Advocacy, to make sure it was about everyone.
Our main aim for this project is to link self-advocates to their audiences. We’re exploring the country to find existing self-advocacy groups, learn what they’re talking about and their views on self-advocacy. We’ll be finding the gaps where self-advocacy isn’t happening and finding ways to make it happen.
At the moment we’re armed with our map of Somerset and have pinned all the groups we know about. Next, we’ll be contacting the groups to let them know about our project and how we can best work together. Our aim is to visit as many of these groups as possible. We’re also looking at ways technology can help us better connect with our audiences.
Although we’re only in the early stages of the project, we expect travelling across a big county like Somerset to be tricky for us. We’re based in Frome, right on the east boarder of Somerset, so getting to the far reaches of the west of Somerset will be quite a journey.
For us, success would be that people start communicating with each other as that’s when change happens. We want to make sure the voices of Somerset’s learning-disabled community are listened to. But not only that, we’d like to see agencies that look out for the community respond to what is being said.
We’ll be working closely with SCF during this project and communicating our progress to keep you updated on project milestones along the way. Follow us on Instagram to take part and stay up to date.
If you run a group for people with learning disabilities, or you know of any locally, please get in touch with us on email. Contact: ben.waller@openstorytellers.org.uk.”
Pictured: Clemma, Special Project Advisor at OpenStoryTellers, pointing to a map of Somerset.
27.11.24
Impact Story details
Location: | County-wide |
Theme: | Disability |