News

We last put news on this page on September 15, 2011

Press release

People First Lambeth lose 90% of their funding, and now after 25 years of supporting people with learning difficulties they will have to close.

People First Lambeth is a self-advocacy organisation that supports people with learning difficulties to speak up for themselves and have choice, control and power over what happens in their lives. It is run by a management committee of people with learning difficulties and employs people with learning difficulties, which is very unusual. We work with all people with learning difficulties, our members include people who have high support needs, mental health problems, autism, physical impairments and people who are unable to communicate by speaking.

People First Lambeth has lost more than 90% of their funding. Lambeth Council have chosen not to renew any of their contracts with us. These are worth more than £115,000 annually. As a direct result this valuable organisation will have to close. This will have a dramatic effect on the workers, some of whom have learning difficulties, the volunteers and the members.

The organisation is very well known and respected nationally. Our members work to improve the lives of people with learning difficulties and disabled people. As well as working with Lambeth to develop services our members also work with the Social Care Institute for Excellence, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Shaping Our Lives and Valuing People. In the last couple of years we have also worked with Values into Action and the British Institute of Learning Disabilities.

In the last year our members have trained quite a lot of doctors and social care and public sector workers in how to work with people with learning difficulties. As well as being involved in a lot of different research projects our members have written a book about the lives that people with learning difficulties lead and the support that they want. The book was very well received. The authors were asked to speak about it at Oxford University and it is on the Royal College of Nursing’s recommended reading list.

Although some of our members do a lot of work outside of People First Lambeth the organisation also does a lot to support it’s members to keep safe and well. It is well known that people with learning difficulties are vulnerable to abuse, being bullied, receiving poor health care and leading lives that are controlled by others. A large part of our work is about supporting our members to deal with these issues as and when they come up in their lives. Our members tell us that People First Lambeth has also helped them to develop a sense of pride in themselves as people with learning difficulties. They also often tell us that it is the one place in their lives where they feel in control of what is happening. Some of our members have been with us for over 25 years. The members are heartbroken about the decision that Lambeth Council have made. We do not know why they have made these cuts and how they have come to decide that this much valued and well respected organisation needs to go.

If you would like to help or ask any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us at Rhys@peoplefirstlambeth.org.uk or peoplefirstmembers@googlemail.com or phone us on 0207 642 0042.

Our members are happy to be interviewed by the press about how they feel about the cuts.

New resources

Announcing much needed seminars

"Can We Get Married?" - BBC2 Programme

"Like many couples who have been together for six years and are in their late twenties, Emma Bishop and Ben Marshall are thinking of getting married. But for them, it is not entirely straightforward.

Emma and Ben both have Down's syndrome and are residents of a supported-living community in Devon, where they have an active social life and part-time jobs. They live in a small house with their friend Cy Clench, who also has Down's syndrome. If Emma and Ben were to get married, it could mean a completely different way of living.

Through the high spirits of their dance nights to the tired conversations at the end of their working days, this film follows Emma and Ben as they decide whether married life would be an enormous stress they could do without, or the romantic dream they always imagined."

Text from BBC Web site.

Parents losing children in 'loaded system'

"Against a background of prejudice and out-of-date assessments, six out of 10 parents with learning disabilities are having their children removed for adoption, research by Bristol University suggests."

Pregnant woman flees social workers

"A seven-months pregnant woman with a learning disability is reported to have fled Scotland because she fears her baby will be taken away from her when it is born."

Woman with learning difficulties not allowed to keep her baby

"A mother-to-be whose wedding was halted by social workers who said she was not intelligent enough to marry, has now been told her baby will be taken away."

Kerry Robertson, 17 has been told that she will not be allowed to bring up the baby due in January.

Stephen Moore, Executive Director, Social Work Service said:

"Much of the work we do is governed by legislation. Complex decisions are made that balance risk and welfare while supporting people at times of personal or family need.

"We cannot discuss details of individual cases for reasons of confidentiality but give assurance that we will always work with people for the best outcome for all involved."

Mark Goldring, Mencap's chief executive said:

"There are around a quarter of a million parents with a learning disability in the UK, all of whom should have the same opportunities as anyone else to be a parent and look after their own children. Yet up to 60 per cent of parents who have a learning disability will at some stage have their children taken away, often because of preconceived ideas that parents with a learning disability are unable to cope.

"With the right support people with a learning disability can be and are excellent parents, yet many fear that asking for help may be seen as an admission of failure which would result in their children being taken away.

"Mencap wants support for parents with a learning disability to be more readily available, as well as learning disability training for local authorities so that decisions about parenting capacity are made on the individual case rather than prejudice."