Hello and welcome Friends and Supporters,
We are excited to announce the election of new People’s Parliament reps. It was great to see 16 people with learning disabilities standing for such an important role. We look forward to working with the reps to create lots of opportunities for them to influence people in power! Read on to find out who was elected.
There is also important news on benefit changes that will affect many people with learning disabilities. We are gearing up to do our best to help people with moving to Universal Credit. Read more on this below from our financial advocate Michelle.
As Director, one of my jobs is to make sure we stay connected to the community and to all the great organisations we work with, in Lewisham and around the country. One of the ways we do that is by using social media. I recently took the decision to close the Lewisham Speaking Up X (formerly Twitter) account. This is because I felt that it no longer seemed to fit in with our values as an organisation that supports people of all backgrounds and beliefs.
You can still find us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and now on Threads too. Just search for ‘Lewisham Speaking Up’ or ‘LewSpeakUp’.
Finally, I wanted to say that we are working hard to get funding to re-start our training project. We hope to spread the word and raise awareness of learning disability and disability hate crime. Combined with our People’s Parliament reps and the fantastic support provided by our 1-2-1 advocates, we believe a training project will really make a difference in our vision for a society where people with learning disabilities are listened to, recognised, respected and included in all decisions about their lives.
Self-Advocacy
People's Parliament
On 20 September, we voted for our new team of People’s Parliament reps.
After 16 brilliant applications, our members voted for who they wanted to represent them. Congratulations to our new reps including the re-election of 3 previous reps.
We had to say goodbye to our reps who have served for 5 years. Aisha, Ife, Mary, Colin, Peter and Sam have done an outstanding job representing people with learning disabilities in Lewisham.
A big thank you for all of their amazing hard work.
Aisha, Ife and Peter have been re-elected and will continue representing people with learning disabilities to have their voices heard.
We also welcomed some marvellous guests! Vicky Foxcroft, MP for Lewisham North, opened the parliament. Cecilia Knapp, Poet in Residence at the City Bridge Foundation, dazzled us with her poetry. Andrew Lee gave us an inspiring speech about the plans for the London Campaign Network.
We're going to Birmingham!
Our reps are preparing for the Positive Voices Conference in Birmingham. We will go to Birmingham on 2 October, and then head to a party!
We can’t wait to catch up with other self-advocates from across the country. Some of them we haven’t seen in a year, and others, we have only ever seen as squares on the screen!
Then, on 3 October, we will head to the conference. This year we are talking about how to recognize the hard work of self-advocates, including developing training. We will also get to share an update on our work, and we’ve been working on a very creative presentation!
Our next People’s Parliament will be on Friday 6 December
from 10.30 – 3.00 at the Catford Civic Suite.
The topic is Street Safety.
For more information email Ellie at ellie.spirrett@lsup.org.uk
Big Group
We have continued our monthly Big Groups over the summer, where we’ve had catch ups and talked about important subjects.
June
We talked about the ‘We Can’t Wait’ campaign that we are working on with My Life My Choice. We want people with learning disabilities to be prioritized on NHS waiting lists to stop people from dying before their time. We gave feedback on their action plan, and now our reps are working on sharing this with hospital managers.
July
We talked about street safety, and what we need to feel safer when out and about. This work will feed into our People’s Parliament in December, which is all about safer streets.
August
We welcomed Jonathan and Chloe from Transport for London, and Andrew who chairs the Transport for London Learning Disability Forum. We talked about what problems people with learning disabilities face on public transport and how it can be improved.
September
We talked about scams with our Money Management Advocate Michelle. She told us how we can keep safe from new scams.
Rix Centre Visit
In July, some of our members when to the hackathon at the Rix Centre. We worked with other self-advocates, parents of people with learning disabilities, social care workers and researchers. We learned about how modern technology can help people with learning disabilities live better lives, and we designed our own technology!
Peter, Sandra and Ellie designed their own technology
Co-production event with SCIE and Lewisham Adult Social Care
In July, we were invited to a meeting all about co-production. We met with other self-advocates and staff from adult social care. They wanted to know what we think about co-production, and what values are important to us.
Our member Lloyd wrote a blog about the event which will be published soon on his blog: https://www.stevehardyldn.com/lloyds-page
Entelechy Arts
Over the next few months we will be inviting important decision makers in Lewisham to Entelechy Arts’ Ambient Jams.
These sessions use movement and music to help people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to communicate.
We loved learning about how movement and music can help people communicate at our People’s Parliament in June!
We hope that this will help decision makers understand the views and wishes of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
1-2-1 Advocacy
Community 1-2-1 Work
Jan, our 1-2-1 Community Advocate, has an update and another case she would like to share.
Case 1:
In June, I mentioned a person that had been referred to us back in September 2023. She wanted her flat maintained and decorated but felt that she was not being taken seriously by her Housing Association.
After several emails and phone calls to try and help her, the Housing Association was still reluctant to act, so I had to escalate the matter by making some complaints on her behalf. The Housing Association acknowledged their error and apologised to the person.
Since then the Housing Association has sent her a decorating form to complete. However, before this could be carried out, I informed them that the person also had a collection of rubbish and hoarding that needed to be addressed.
They employed contractors to dispose of all her rubbish, hoarding and old furniture. The Housing Association recognised that this person may have a hoarding issue and said they would do something to support her, if she was willing to engage with them.
They also said they would provide her with a grant to obtain a second-hand wardrobe and single bed.
The Housing Association has told us that repairs and maintenance will be carried out as she had originally wanted.
The decorating form has been sent in, and she has received confirmation that her place will be decorated sometime next year. One year on from her original referral to us, the person is happy with the outcome of her case and is looking forward to having her flat being spruced up!
Case 2:
Another case is a person whom I have been working with on and off for 2 years. This person has been looking for suitable supported living for a very long time.
We recently went to view a property together, but it was not suitable, as it was outside the borough of Lewisham. The shower room was too small to accommodate a wheelchair, and the other tenants were all male.
We now have a second property in the borough of Lewisham to consider. It is on the ground floor and the bedroom and shower are large enough for a wheelchair. It is near to the shopping centre and transport and equally significant, it is near to her mum and friends.
When we first viewed the property, it was not renovated and had no tenants. However, we have been advised that it is now decorated, and some other tenants are living there. According to the supported living manager they have plenty of activities such as walks in the park, bowling, cooking, playing games, and art and crafts.
We can’t wait to see the renovations and meet and greet the tenants and staff.
The big question is, will she choose to go with this supported living option? Join me next time to find out her decision!
Money Management Advocacy Work
Michelle, our Finance Advocate, has some important news for anyone on benefits.
Between now and the end of 2025 there will be a lot of benefit changes. People receiving the following benefits (also called ‘Legacy Benefits’) will be moved to Universal Credit (UC).
- Income Support
- Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)
- Tax Credits
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
What will happen?
- You will receive a letter titled ‘Universal Credit Migration Notice’ inviting you to claim UC.
- The letter will give you a deadline to claim and will inform you that your existing benefits will end. You will no longer have the choice to remain on legacy benefits and Tax Credits.
- Your Deadline Day will be at least 3 months from the date on the migration notice.
- You can claim by registering online or by phoning the UC helpline.
Can I go back to my legacy benefits if I change my mind about moving to UC?
No, once you have put in a claim for UC your legacy benefits will stop and you cannot return to them, even if you are unhappy with UC.
Will I still get Housing Benefit?
Instead of HB, you will receive a housing costs payment in your UC.
If you are living in supported living or temporary accommodation, you may continue to receive HB instead of help with your rent through UC.
Will UC cover my council tax?
No, UC does not include an element for Council Tax. You should claim Council Tax Reduction from Lewisham Council.
I receive ESA and do Permitted Work. Can I still do this when I move to UC?
There are no permitted work rules for UC. Instead, people can get a Fit Note from their GP, to say how their learning disability and or autism affect their work skills.
You will then have a Work Capability Assessment to see if you are eligible for any extra UC money.
Important words to remember:
Legacy benefits = old benefits
Migration Notice = moving to new benefit
We have very good links with the Lewisham borough Job Centres and can ask for extra support for you.
We can also come with you to appointments to advocate for you.
Phone Michelle on 07565 280 157 if you want to chat about this.
Referral forms can be found here
