Read Lloyd’s blog on the Positive Voices conference
Lloyd, a self advocate and volunteer at Lewisham Speaking Up, came with us to the Positive Voices conference in September. The conference is hosted by Dudley Voices for Choice and brings together about 150 self advocates from around the country!
Here is what he said:
I have been going to the Positive Voices conferences since 2021 and I have gotten to know some old friends and new, who I haven’t seen before.
This year, we had speakers from NHS England and SeeAbility and they were speaking about the LEDER report. The LEDER report from 2023 wasn’t published yet, which made me feel absolutely rotten. It felt like the government weren’t listening to us or what we need.
The LEDER report has the figures and numbers of deaths of people with learning disabilities, and it tells us how people are dying so we can do something about it.
People said that things are getting worse, not better. People don’t get enough mental health support. Waiting lists are longer. It is hard to contact your GP.
People said too “don’t underestimate the power of your voice!”
I helped Lewisham Speaking Up give a presentation. We presented our video! We talked about campaigning about benefits and our People’s Parliament on mental health. We talked about raising awareness by working with colleges and universities, and the We Can’t Wait campaign. The campaign is all about NHS waiting lists, which can cause people to get very sick and die before their time.
The great thing about the conference is the food and the party the night before. I sang a song – The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by Laurel and Hardy. I sang it with Eddie Chaplain from London Southbank University. Eddie did the acting of scratching his head like Stan Laurel. The food was fish and chips, and don’t forget the pudding!
