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Changing Our Lives Newsletter June 2012

Inside…

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An emotional Bike Ride

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Young People’s Scrutiny Panel Safe Places in Wolverhampton

Aberdovey Bike Ride

Open Mic Night

The Big Health Check

On 23rd June, a team of 15 including Blind Dave and our trustee Steve Dugmore cycled from Wales to West Bromwich for Changing Our Lives and in memory of our good friend and trustee Liz Mabley. It was even more of achievement as Blind Dave and Steve had completed the Aberdovey Bike Ride the day before! The team included members of Liz's family who had never cycled before. Word arrived that the cyclists were nearby and a crowd gathered in anticipation. It was an amazing sight as they came towards The Public and even more emotional as they crossed the finish line to cheers and tears. What an achievement! Melissa Mabley said, "I'm overwhelmed by all the support, it was a fantastic team effort... Thanks to Dave and Steve for their supportive words and laughter, the rest of the Mabley family, the camper van crew and Changing Our Lives for a fantastic welcome".

Next Spotlight Open Mic

August 3rd!

Changing Our Lives

June 2012

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Spotlight Open Mic Night

Over 200 people attended a lively Open Mic night following the cycle ride from Wales. The evening opened in style with musical theatre student Catherine Roberts. Performances followed from Colleen Johnson, Simon Quinton, Maxine Price, Lesley Tompkins, and Ashley Hillman. Matt Doleman entertained everyone with his comedy routine and Born to be Different were our first group of the night. During the interval Urban Fusion and Broadway rocked the house with a street dance set. Terry Powell, David Westbury, Alan Slim, Stephen Winsper, Gemma Babies and William Horncastle (aka Elvis) continued the show. Performing Arts did an excellent dance routine, which got everyone clapping along and Gemma Caffrey finished with a West Side Story song. It's going to be a hard job to select the acts to perform in the Spotlight Final on 9th November. All the photos can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/changingourlives/sets/72157630279369040/

Changing Our Lives June2012

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Aberdovey Bike Ride

It was cold, wet and windy at 7.00am on 22nd June but 500 cyclists still left The Molineux headed for Aberdovey on the annual charity bike ride organised by Wolverhampton Police to raise money for local charities. This year Changing Our Lives is lucky to be one of the charities the bike ride will support. Amongst the cyclists was our friend Blind Dave Heeley and trustee Steve Dugmore. Dave said 'It's wet, it's wild, it's windy, but it's wonderful" when we caught up with him at checkpoint 2 just outside Shrewsbury. Nigel was doing a fantastic job of directing all of the cyclists into the checkpoint.

Changing Our Lives

June 2012

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Gina selected to Young People’s Scrutiny Panel

We're very proud to announce that Gina has been chosen as one of the young people to sit

on the new Scrutiny Panel, which is made up of 15 young people from all over the UK. The panel is set up by the UKYP (UK Youth Parliament) and the BYC (British Youth Council). She will 'youth proof' and examine UK Government policies, advising UK Government Ministers on young people's needs and the impact of Government policies on young people. On the 1st of July, Gina went to London to meet with the other people who will join her on the panel and receive training for the role. Then on the 2nd July, she will met the Government for the first time with the rest of the panel. You can read about it on G’s blog www.changingourlives.org

The last Wolverhampton People's Parliament meeting discussed the development of the Safe Places scheme in Wolverhampton. The MP's worked in groups with Wolverhampton Police Community Support Officers to explain the Safe Places scheme and recruit new safe places in the area. It was a really successful afternoon with 14 new locations on board and another 17 interested in joining. In total, Wolverhampton now has 134 Safe Places, with almost 70 of them in the city centre. This is a fantastic achievement in a short space of time. The Safe Places scheme was recently highlighted on Central Evening News, with Jess and James explaining the scheme and how it works. They gave a 'real life' demonstration about Safe Places.

Safe Places in Wolverhampton

Changing Our Lives June2012

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Sandwell’s Big Health Day

Siraaj Nadat led Sandwell's Big Health day on 19th June 2012. This was an opportunity for local people with learning disabilities to get together with healthcare professionals and commissioners to decide what things need to get better for people's health and what’s working really well. As there were so many things people wanted to do to improve health for people with learning disabilities, it was decided that the main priorities would go to a meeting of the People's Parliament on 3rd September, where the Parliament MPs and senior figures from around the borough will create a big action plan to make sure nothing gets lost.

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The Public New Street

West Bromwich B70 7PG

Tel: 0121 533 7174 ask@changingourlives.org

www.changingourlives.org www.twitter.com/Positive_Lives

Changing Our Lives June 2012

Hello Ruth! Ruth has joined our team as a Project Development Officer supporting self-advocates. Ruth strongly believes that all people who have a disability have the right to be listened to and is committed to improving the awareness of good communication within people’s lives. Ruth will work with our auditors, supporting them to monitor the quality of residential services and in-patient units across the Black Country. She will also support self-advocates to research the history of services for people with learning disabilities who also have mental health issues.