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Why Support Us?

It costs approximately £40 for every hour of advocacy the VoiceAbility Advocates provide which helps to strengthens voices, champion rights and change lives.

Every pound we receive makes a difference to the lives of people we work with.

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Paul’s Story

A VoiceAbility advocate had been working with Paul, a gentleman with communication issues following a stroke, to help him be involved in the decision about where he should live.

Staff told the IMCA that Paul could only answer yes and no, it soon became clear to the advocate that Paul was frustrated and it was only the physical difficulties that were preventing him answering more than this.

The advocate spent time getting to know Paul and the things he liked and the people that were important in his life. By using a different method of communication, in this case a Talking mat, the advocate was able to help build up a picture of Paul’s likes, dislikes and wishes around where he wanted to live.

The advocate was able to support Paul to express clear wishes, and challenge the professional view that he could only answer yes and no. By taking the time to get to know Paul and by working with him creatively, the advocate was able to meaningfully involve Paul in major decisions affecting his life.

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In addition to the fantastic work of our advocates and project workers, we have a range of innovations that we need your support with; these are just some.

AdvoCamp

AdvoCamp is an integrated, specialist holiday-time service for children who have learning disabilities and behavioural problems. It aims to improve these children's sense of self-worth, increase their ability to speak out and make choices on their own, build on their ability to make and sustain relationships with their peer groups, and enable them to participate fully particularly around their future educational, training and employment opportunities. Staff will plan a range of activities, but the children themselves will lead the camp so that they are able to choose their preferred activities and outings.

Disabling Myths

Disabling the Myth is a heritage project that will look at a completely unrepresented area of social history - the history of people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. This project would not only work to collect the stories and the artefacts of people with learning disabilities or mental health issues, but it would also provide a platform for people to learn and participate in finding out more about this fascinating subject, would actively preserve this dying piece of social history and set up new models for heritage participation from hard-to-reach audiences.

Dreamer’s Bar

Dreamer’s Bar is a social hub and information resource for adults with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions. There is a huge need for paid and volunteering opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions that would not otherwise be available without Dreamer’s Bar. Our feedback has shown that many adults with learning disabilities and ASD are not otherwise occupied and face social isolation - one of our attendees commented that he would just be sitting at home watching the TV. The project addresses this by providing a social hub. The project also offers a range of activities, offering people something to do.