Multiple Disadvantage Day 2019 Over the last year the National Communications Group, comprising of representatives from all 12 fulfilling lives areas, have been in consultation with key stake holders and the National Expert Citizens Group and will be launching a dedicated Multiple Disadvantage Day, on July 3rd 2019. As a national voice for change we hope to raise awareness of the complicated and interconnected nature of the issues faced by some of the most marginalised and vulnerable members of our community, in a bid to reduce associated stigma and increase understanding as to why a person may find themselves experience multiple and complex needs. The campaign launches on Monday 3rd June 2019 so keep your eyes peeled on social media for material and information leading up to the big day on Wednesday 3rd July when Events will be happening across the UK.   Watch this space for updates and further details…     National Co-production Week 2019 National Co-production week is returning for its fourth consecutive year from the 1st – 5th  July 2019 an this year’s theme is ‘sharing power’. “For the fourth year running, Co-production Week will celebrate the benefits of co-production, share good practice and highlight the contribution of people who use services and carers to developing… Continue Reading

Dr John Wheeler, Associate Dean in the School of Law, Policing and Forensics at Staffordshire University explains why.   On 28th June 2018 Staffordshire University held its annual Teaching and Learning Conference.  This is an opportunity for colleagues to share with each other the best practice that they have developed through their own teaching on our vast array of subjects and courses.  This year’s Conference had an emphasis on ‘co-creation’ of learning opportunities and teaching methods between staff of the university and a range of other stakeholders, including academic partners, employers, professional bodies and, of course, students. I was privileged to be asked to chair one of several parallel workshop sessions during the Conference.  The first presentation of this session was entitled “Peer Mentor training: from co-production to co-delivery”.  This was facilitated by three people – Penny Vincent, who is extremely active in community-based work and who I know well as we have both worked at the University for many years, Sharon Sharman – Learning and Evaluation Manager from VOICES – a Big Lottery Funded project that I was unaware of until now, and a guy called Dan Jones, more about him shortly.  From start to finish I was very impressed with this… Continue Reading

By Steve Barkess, Community Development Coordinator, VOICES   My adventure is soon to begin… In a few days’ time I will be traveling to Seattle to take part in the transatlantic exchange to learn about how they support people who are homeless and take steps to tackle this as a wider issue. My focus will be on the lived experience aspect of this, as this I think, would be a good place to start. I suppose my research topic is quite specific as I am sure everyone who has been successful in being selected for the exchange is. Whilst doing my research on how people are supported in the US it became apparent that a lived experience and community approach is paramount for much of the support offered to individuals. I was also really interested in the dedicated approaches to peer specialist role within the support sector and the way this is managed. So why did I focus on lived experience? I have a strong belief that people with lived experience should be employed within services at all levels. In the UK it is not uncommon that people with lived experience are turned down for roles within services due to lack of experience and knowledge of… Continue Reading