Carol Clarke
Carol is the Office Manager. As well as providing support for the organisation, Carol manages the website to make sure that all the information is up to date and accessible. She also makes sure that people know about Changing Our Lives by looking after publicity and marketing and taking lots of photographs at our events! Carol is the first person you will speak to if you call Changing Our Lives.
Poets First
The Clore Poetry and Literature Awards, founded in 2011, specifically target the development of imaginative new ways to engage children and young people in the experience of poetry and literature, both in and out of school. They represent a £1 million strategic investment in poetry and literature for young people in the UK.
This award will enable Changing Our Lives to run a series of eight workshops with poets from Poetry Slam, together with contributions from performance poet, Dreadlock Alien. The workshops will be offered to 80 young people aged 11-18 with disabilities across Sandwell and Wolverhampton. Each workshop will end in a poetry slam and will be filmed and shared on social networks. A motion typography exhibit will be created to showcase the poetry through projected graphics. A final evening Poetry Gig will give young people an opportunity to perform for their friends and families. They will link to the Poetry Society via the Young Poets Network on Facebook.
For more information about how to get involved contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Siraaj and Sarah recently co-trained support staff from Friendship Care and Housing, who offer a range of residential and supported living placements to adults across the West Midlands. The people they support have a range of disabilities, including profound and multiple learning disabilities and autism. The training encompassed general learning disability awareness and autism, followed by communicating and supporting people who do not use words to communicate. The feedback we had was really positive:
'Detailed and powerful training, supported by real life case studies and examples'.
'Interactive and thought provoking training. Delivered with passion and fun'.
'Professional, engaging and insightful'.
'I feel more confident about working with people who do not use words. The facts about life in the long stay hospital reminded me about the importance of giving people choice and an equal voice'.
