Makeover magicAnother successful Happy Healthy Fun Day page 2

NewsletterJULY 2015

2 From the Editor

2 Businessas usual

3 The Big Picture

3 Focus on . . . RoyalMencap’s Strategy

4-6 News & Events —BM 50th Anniversary

myVoice Project

BM Hustings

Advisory Council

7 Being . . .Nicola Saunders

8 Photo Finish

8 Diary Dates

8 How to find us

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Huda loved her new look. Other activities included martial arts, Zumba, hand and head massages, nail painting and reflexology

Business as usualBarnet Mencap is in the middle of its 50th anniversary celebrationsjust now. It has been a time to look back and think what has beenachieved over this long period. But at any milestone it is importantto also consider the challenges that lie ahead.

The new Business Plan sets out what Barnet Mencap will doover the next three years to ensure people with learningdisabilities get the support they need. It also talks about some ofthe other things Barnet Mencap wants to do to bring aboutchanges in the long-term. Barnet Mencap’s vision states that itwants to see a world where people with learning disabilities arevalued equally, listened to and included. We begin with the stepswe need to take now so that this vision becomes a reality.

In the Business Plan, Barnet Mencap re-states its commitmentto work with children and adults with learning disabilities andtheir family carers. The plan has a stronger focus on peoplewith autism.

When we have reviewed what is important to people we haveheard the same key messages that families need good support inearly years and people need advice and information so they candecide what is best for them. They need good support so that theycan live as independently as possible, take part in leisure andlearning activities, and work. Short breaks for children and adultsbenefit the whole family.

Barnet Mencap will strive to maintain its current services whichmeet these needs, but it knows that it will take more than goodservices to bring about lasting change for people with learningdisabilities and autism. Barnet Mencap will be engaging with thelocal community to raise awareness about the support peopleneed from everybody – where they shop, play sport, study or usemainstream services.

Some of these changes can only be achieved by workingwith others. Partnerships, whether with other local voluntaryorganisations or national groups like Royal Mencap, will be evenmore important in the coming years.

Our work continues against a backdrop of continuing austerityand huge changes in our local services. The new legislationaffecting children and adults will also have an impact on whatwe do.

In difficult circumstances it is more important than ever thatwe keep our focus on what matters the most. The staff, Board ofDirectors and volunteers will continue to work hard and achievethe goals we have set ourselves in the new Business Plan.

After a fraught few months whenwe thought we were going tolose almost all of our Children’sService we have had good newsall round. Our bids to variousfunders and discussions with theborough have been successfuland we have managed to hold onto all of our projects plus developsome new work.

Open Door West receivedthree years funding last year fromChildren in Need and now OpenDoor East has been funded byJohn Lyon’s Charity for a furtherthree years. In addition Childrenin Need have awarded us a smallgrant that will enable us to runActing Bugs once a month for ayear. We are now in a position todevelop our play work, offeringregular Soft Play sessions andSummer Fun sessions.

We have also receivedfunding from the boroughmeaning we are able to continuerunning an advice and informationservice for 5-18 year olds andtheir family carers. This newservice, Moving Up, which iscurrently funded for one yearcovers the whole of the borough.A lot of hard work has gone intomaking this happen but it waswell worth it to see the Children’sService continue and flourish.

This year saw the 8th HappyHealthy Fun Day (front cover).Over 300 people attended.Now starts the task of trying tofund the next one. Contact me ifyou’d like to donate or set up afundraiser.

Shelley GibbonsPAGE 2

From theEditor

Barnet Mencap has worked much more closelywith Royal Mencap in recent years, so it waspleased to see Royal Mencap’s new long-termstrategy, which was launched at the end of April.

There was an opportunity prior to this for staff,trustees and people with learning disabilities inBarnet to meet with staff from Royal Mencap.They were able to discuss some of the prioritiesin the new strategy. It was really good to see thatthese priorities reflected things that are importantto us too.

The strategy emphasises the importance offamilies getting good support, advice andinformation to make sure that children under 5 getthe best start in life. The strategy also recognisesthat having friendships and strong communityconnections are vital if people with learning

disabilities are to get the most out of life. Peopleneed good support, the strategy says, and muchmore needs to be done if we are to improvepeople’s health.

Underlying so much of this is the pressingneed to change attitudes towards people withlearning disabilities. The strategy points to thework that is needed to raise awareness oflearning disability amongst the general publicand mainstream services. We need to strive toensure that people are truly respected andtreated as equals.

A number of the points in this strategy chimewith Barnet Mencap’s new Business Plan. As wework to implement it over the next three years,we hope to contribute to the success of RoyalMencap’s strategy.

Actors perform some Tales from Wonderland in their devised drama show

Royal Mencap’s StrategyFocuson...

PAGE 3

THE BIG

PICTURE

Did you know that in 1834 the Poor Laws sawthe creation of asylums to house the ‘feeble-minded?’ And that in 1913 the Mental DeficiencyAct led to the creation of colonies where peoplewith learning disabilities were separated fromthe community and controlled?

It took 68 years after that until 1981 beforean Education Act was passed that all childrenshould be educated in mainstream schoolswherever possible.

Well I’ve learnt these and many otherinteresting and perhaps surprising nuggets ofinformation in doing my research for the 50thAnniversary book about Barnet Mencap.

Work on the book is well underway. It will tellthe story in words, pictures and newspapercuttings etc. from our formation, in 1965 (andprior to that), right up to the present day.

It will show how Barnet Mencap and itspredecessors have moved from their humblebeginnings as an entirely voluntary organisationwith all the work being done by parents andfriends, through its first employee in the 1980sto the thriving company it is today, with over 50employees and an expected turnover in 2015/16of around £1.4 million.

And just as Barnet Mencap has changed,so have the prospects for people with learningdisabilities. I’ve been researching the archives,looking through old year books, scrapbooks,photo albums, minutes and newsletters, whileanother board member, Sally Wickenden, hasundertaken a number of interviews withprominent people associated with BarnetMencap over the years.

There is still time to contribute. If you haveanything that you think may be of interest youcan contact me at mike.wiffen@gmail.com.It is planned that the book will be availableat the Annual General Meeting in November.

PAGE 4

History book takes shapeBM 50th ANNIVERSARY

Tom Flynn and Gary Jelen with a ‘Licence To Kill’ at Bond In Motion

News&Events

Ambitious about Autism is a national charity forchildren and young people with an Autismspectrum diagnosis. 1 in 100 children and youngpeople in the UK have a diagnosis of autismaffecting some 100,000 young people in thiscountry. Young people with autism make up asignificant part of our society yet are alsounderrepresented in all areas of life.

It is likely that you know someone who isautistic or who has been affected by autism but itis a problem that wider society would prefer toignore. 83% of young people with Asperger’sSyndrome say they have been bullied in schooland only 15% of adults with autism are in full timepaid employment.

Recognising these shocking statistics,Ambitious about Autism has partnered with theDepartment of Health to deliver the myVoiceproject. Over the next three years myVoice willenable young people with autism aged between16-25 who live in the London boroughs of Barnet,Bromley, Haringey and Islington to have betterrepresentation in society.

myVoice will recruit young people with autismto inspect their local health, education and socialcare services and report their findings to LocalAuthority Commissioners so these services can

better reflect the needs of young people withautism.

myVoice has also launched a new website foryoung people with autism to find out more aboutthemselves and the world they live in, withcontent made by young people with autism.

The website was launched in April and isinitially focusing on the areas that young peoplewith autism have told us they want to know aboutmost: Autism, Bullying, Relationships andEmployment.

myVoice volunteers will also be facilitatingonline chats on the website with experts that theythink the autism community needs to hear fromso that young people who use the website havea variety of different methods with which toaccess content.

Starting in 2016 myVoice will expand its reachand start training young people with autism tojoin youth councils, Healthwatch boards, scrutinygroups and other participation projects.

For more information about how to getinvolved please emailmyVoice@ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk

A few weeks before the general election tookplace Barnet Mencap, in partnership withRoyal Mencap, hosted a hustings (a meetingat which candidates in an election addresspotential voters).

This was part of Hear My Voice, the nationalcampaign being run by Mencap. There are over1.4 million people with a learning disabilityand/or autism and their families who face issueslike poor healthcare, hate crime and socialisolation and they have rarely had a chance tohave their voices heard. These issues arehardly ever debated and most politicians don’tunderstand how these things impact onpeople’s lives.

Candidates were invited from the two mostmarginal seats in the borough. These wereHendon and Finchley and Golders Green.

The audience was made up of people

PAGE 5

Grilling the politiciansBARNET MENCAP HUSTINGS

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Help for the autistic youngMYVOICE PROJECT

News&Events

Remember, we celebrate our 50thanniversary this year. Look out for

news of events commemorating thisimportant milestone in our history

with learning disabilities and/or autism, familycarers and professionals.

Although all candidates were invited somedidn’t attend. Those who did represented Labour,Green and UKIP. There was disappointment thatthere was no representation from the other keypolitical parties.

On the day there was a pre-meeting so thatpeople had a chance to discuss what was mostimportant to them and what to ask thecandidates.

Topics included issues with transport, thecandidates’ understanding of autism, concernsaround benefits being cut and the quality andmonitoring of care services.

When the candidates arrived the keyquestions were addressed (other questions wereforwarded to the candidates after the meeting).

The discussions were very lively. Sometimesthe candidates seemed to forget who they wereaddressing but mainly they stayed on track witha little help from the Chair.

For many people in the audience this wasthe first time they had such an opportunity to

meet and question parliamentary candidates.Some had never exercised their right to votein a general election before.

After the meeting (which took place at St.Paul’s in Finchley) many people said that it hadhelped them to decide who to vote for.

Members and other interested parties turnedout to have their say at the recent AdvisoryCouncil Meeting held by Barnet Mencap atSt Paul’s in Finchley Central.

Ray Booth (Chief Executive) welcomedeveryone to the meeting and went throughwhat had been achieved over the last yearand what was being planned for the future.

In particular he talked about some jointworking with Royal Mencap which was givingpeople with learning disabilities and/or autisma voice.

Ray went on to tell everyone about some ofthe plans Barnet Mencap has for the next threeyears. Then, to give everyone a chance to havetheir say, people split into small groups andtalked about which projects and activities theythought were the most important.

Generally it was agreed that the socialactivities, learning, campaigning and fundraisingwere some of the most important things thatBarnet Mencap does and people would likethese to continue.

Next, the groups talked about the best wayfor service users and their families to putforward their views.

On the whole the groups agreed that formalmeetings weren’t always very accessible anddidn’t work for everyone.

It was felt that it would be more helpful tohave some coffee mornings where people couldchat informally or for trustees and staff to meetpeople attending the different projects to gettheir views.

At the end of the meeting Ray thankedeveryone who attended for helping us to planfor the future.

PAGE 6

Looking forwardADVISORY COUNCIL

News&Events

u

Candidates representing the Labour Party, Green Party andUKIP at the Hear My Voice hustings session – chaired byShelley Gibbons – take questions from the audience

My name is Nicola and I was born inBedford Hospital on 22nd March 1984.I weighed 7lb and I was late being born,

so my Mum told me. I went to different schools inBedford and London and ended up later atcollege in Grahame Park.

At college I learnt how to use a computer andlearnt some good communication skills. This waslearning how to talk in a group and to be moreconfident with people.

I have also worked as a volunteer in a charityshop for a short time. My job was sorting out theclothes and labelling them. I also had the job ofputting the books into alphabetical order.

At the moment I live with my two brothers,my parents and my fish Rob, Bert and Tock(Tick died) and Rosie the cat, but I am looking tomove to one of Equality Housing’s sharedhouses in the near future.

I have already chosen the colour blue for mynew room and decided on some pastel coloursfor my bedding. I am looking forward to it but Iwill miss my family.

I joined Barnet Mencap in November 2013

and became a member of COPs and Fit2gether.I also have a link worker for two hours a week tohelp me learn new skills.

I really like going to The Queens Arms pubwith COPs because it is good fun and I cansocialise with people. I have become friendswith people like Tom, Janette, Chris and Dimi.

I also like the drop-in and find it interestingand helpful when the police come and tell us howto keep safe on the buses and trains.

I really enjoy doing exercise with Fit2gether.I like Zumba, martial arts and yoga. I am goingto try and lose weight and get fit. I’m also goingto try Slimming World sometime soon.

Last year I did the Cook and Eat coursewith COPs and I learnt how to make lots of reallynice things.

I also went to The Houses of Parliament andthey told us about voting and MPs. It was busywhen we got there and it was hard to find a seat.

I went to a Hear My Voice talk and met someof the people who want to be MPs. I am going tovote in the general election. I have only voted forlocal councillors before.

Last year I went to see a show at ChickenShed. It was good.

Before I joined I didn’t do any activities butI am much happier now. I like to keep busy.

I am going to hopefully be startingvolunteering at the Barnet Mencap office workingon the reception. I will be answering thetelephone and taking messages.

I was on an interview panel and helped tochoose the new link workers for EqualityHousing. I got paid and really enjoyed it.

I enjoy support. I have two new link workerscalled Anne and Pam and they help me to learnto cook, help with my letters and support me toappointments at the job centre and the doctors.

They are going to help me move as well. I amlooking forward to it.

I am also saving for a holiday as I have neverbeen away before. I would like to go to theseaside.

This is going to be a really busy time for meand I am very excited about everything.

PAGE 7

Nicola Saunders: very excited about everything

Being... Nicola Saunders

PAGE 8

Photo

Finish

Children playing at the Open Door under-5s Soft Play Session

AugustSummer Fun SessionsFor under 5s with additional needs and their siblings(up to the age of 7)Four sessions in AugustFor more details contact projectsupport@barnetmencap.org.uk

Wednesday 2nd SeptemberLearning Disability Partnership Board meeting1pm at Barnet House, 1255 High Road, Whetstone N20 0EJ

Thursday 17th SeptemberHealthwatch Barnet AGMFor more details contact projectsupport@barnetmencap.org.uk

Wednesday 4th NovemberBarnet Mencap AGMFor more details contact projectsupport@barnetmencap.org.ukor call 020 8349 3842

How to find us35 Hendon Lane, Finchley, London N3 1RTTel: 020 8349 3842 Fax: 020 8349 2192Email:projectsupport@barnetmencap.org.ukWebsite: www.barnetmencap.org.uk

www.facebook.com/barnetmencap

@barnetmencap

Barnet Mencap Registered Charity No.1089388 Company Registration No.4274621

The next newsletter, with all the latest news and features, will appear in October

Diary Dates

General Information

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