Our Work
10 May
Open Mic hits Newhampton!
On 19th April Newhampton Arts Centre opened its doors to host the first open mic night in Wolverhampton. Cllr Steve Evans opened the event and spoke of his experience at last year's Spotlight final, where he was amazed by the talent on show and how please he was to welcome the open mic events to Wolverhampton. Host and young leader Alex Johnson kept the acts flowing and the crowds entertained with his humour and charisma and spoilt them by closing the night with a confident and emotional accopella version of Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World.
It was wonderful to see so many new and varied acts, from musicians to stand up comedians gracing the stage and being so well supported by the audience. "Bringing open mic nights on tour will give people right across the Black Country a platform to showcase their artistic talents and meet new people who share the same passion", said Lucy Dunstan who organises the events.
Anyone who would like the opportunity to perform at future open mic nights to be in with a chance of being selected by judges to perform at the Spotlight Final can contact Lucy on 0121 533 7174. All finalists selected will get the chance to work with an Artistic Buddy to help improve and develop their act leading up to the final. One of ast years finalists stated "I want you to know how much we valued the support of our Artistic Buddy and we are very grateful for his time and input. They gave us excellent advice to apply to our performance. They was the best musical sessions that we'd had for a long time."
The Spotlight Final will be held at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Friday 31st January 2014, so if you would like tickets to please get in touch!
Read more...
It was wonderful to see so many new and varied acts, from musicians to stand up comedians gracing the stage and being so well supported by the audience. "Bringing open mic nights on tour will give people right across the Black Country a platform to showcase their artistic talents and meet new people who share the same passion", said Lucy Dunstan who organises the events.
Anyone who would like the opportunity to perform at future open mic nights to be in with a chance of being selected by judges to perform at the Spotlight Final can contact Lucy on 0121 533 7174. All finalists selected will get the chance to work with an Artistic Buddy to help improve and develop their act leading up to the final. One of ast years finalists stated "I want you to know how much we valued the support of our Artistic Buddy and we are very grateful for his time and input. They gave us excellent advice to apply to our performance. They was the best musical sessions that we'd had for a long time."
The Spotlight Final will be held at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Friday 31st January 2014, so if you would like tickets to please get in touch!
On the 23rd of April members of the Patient Council met with the estates department from the Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust to approve the final plans for the site. The work should be completed in around 6 weeks time and will mean that the people using the Gerry Simon Clinic and Penrose House will have an area to sit outside the canteen and enjoy a cup of tea!
The Patient Councils next job is to choose what furniture they want on the patio area. Keith, the chair of the Patient Council said that the plans were 'better than we expected them to be and it is great it will be done by the summer so we can get the benefit from it'. This is a great achievement for the Patient Council as they saw an issue with the outside area and through being creative and working hard they have seen the area improve.
Read more...
The Patient Councils next job is to choose what furniture they want on the patio area. Keith, the chair of the Patient Council said that the plans were 'better than we expected them to be and it is great it will be done by the summer so we can get the benefit from it'. This is a great achievement for the Patient Council as they saw an issue with the outside area and through being creative and working hard they have seen the area improve.
Can you help us develop a national learning disability history archive?
Changing Our Lives is a self-advocacy organisation that develops projects in co-production with people with learning disabilities. We are currently working on a history project called "Lost and Found" which is seeking to record the often hidden history of people with learning disabilities and additional mental health issues who have found themselves treated within secure settings. In addition to working closely with a number of individuals who have experienced this kind of support we are looking to develop an archive that can safely and securely house resources that represent the practices and policies of life within secure settings or long-stay hospitals. We are looking for any items that could be scanned or photographed in order to preserve them for the future. A website will eventually be created which will ensure the items are easily accessible for everyone who has an interest in preserving the history of people with learning disabilities. If you feel you could help us in any way or wish to discuss this project further please feel free to contact either Ruth Clinton or Subtan Mahmood (Project Development Officers) on 0121 533 7174. Alternatively you can contact us on our email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Read more...
Changing Our Lives is a self-advocacy organisation that develops projects in co-production with people with learning disabilities. We are currently working on a history project called "Lost and Found" which is seeking to record the often hidden history of people with learning disabilities and additional mental health issues who have found themselves treated within secure settings. In addition to working closely with a number of individuals who have experienced this kind of support we are looking to develop an archive that can safely and securely house resources that represent the practices and policies of life within secure settings or long-stay hospitals. We are looking for any items that could be scanned or photographed in order to preserve them for the future. A website will eventually be created which will ensure the items are easily accessible for everyone who has an interest in preserving the history of people with learning disabilities. If you feel you could help us in any way or wish to discuss this project further please feel free to contact either Ruth Clinton or Subtan Mahmood (Project Development Officers) on 0121 533 7174. Alternatively you can contact us on our email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
With the disbanding of Primary Care Trusts and the increasing responsibilities of Clinical Commissioning Groups, the demand for good quality information sharing is at its peak.
In most other regions of England, this hasn't been an issue because information sharing networks have long since been founded, developed and have quietly been disseminating content to all of their subscribers, from good practice guides, legislation outlines to peer support request.
Unfortunately until recently this hasn't been the case in the Midlands.
Changing Our Lives have developed 'Health Networker', a weekly newsletter that's delivered directly to the inbox of its subscribers. Health Networker aims to fill the gap in information sharing across the Midlands and bringing good quality, unbiased content to all of its subscribers.
If you have an issue that you want to get some expert help on, if you have a report or guide you want to circulate to your peers then the Health Networker could be what you're looking for.
To join the subscriber list or to keep yourself up to date with what's going on in the midlands go to www.healthnetworker.org
Read more...
In most other regions of England, this hasn't been an issue because information sharing networks have long since been founded, developed and have quietly been disseminating content to all of their subscribers, from good practice guides, legislation outlines to peer support request.
Unfortunately until recently this hasn't been the case in the Midlands.
Changing Our Lives have developed 'Health Networker', a weekly newsletter that's delivered directly to the inbox of its subscribers. Health Networker aims to fill the gap in information sharing across the Midlands and bringing good quality, unbiased content to all of its subscribers.
If you have an issue that you want to get some expert help on, if you have a report or guide you want to circulate to your peers then the Health Networker could be what you're looking for.
To join the subscriber list or to keep yourself up to date with what's going on in the midlands go to www.healthnetworker.org
On April 19th Wolverhampton People's Parliament held an Employment Select Committee to bring together professionals that had signed up to deliver on outcomes in the Parliament's White Paper.
MPs Kamal Jassal and Jessica Bromley, who took charge of a busy agenda and held professionals to account, chaired the meeting. They used a newly developed traffic light system to record the progress made by professionals in achieving their pledges.
The meeting was extremely well attended by public and third sector organisations, who came to present on the outcomes that they had successfully completed. (direct to outcomes). New stakeholders included Wendy Walker from Wolverhampton Volunteer Centre, who came to introduce the service, how it supports people and the value of volunteering as a potential way into paid work.
Roger Painter, Employment Consultant, presented employment figures from across the West Midland for people with learning disabilities and told the Select Committee that the best performing areas are those with a meaningful written strategy, strong leadership and where there is an assumption of employment from an early age.
Chris Parsons from Adult Education in Wolverhampton shared the success of her pledge in employing a person with a learning disability to work over 16 hours. We heard about the journey that this pledge this took and the barriers that Chris had to overcome to achieve this.
The People's Parliament were thrilled to hear that the Wolverhampton City Council now have a Job Carving Policy, which has been signed up to corporately and will be rolled out cross departmentally. Their Supported Employment Team have got 5 people into work since December 2012, 6 people on their way to jobs with a commitment to another 15 jobs for people with learning disabilities over the next 6 months.
The next Employment Select Committee will be held on November 1st 2013.
Read more...
MPs Kamal Jassal and Jessica Bromley, who took charge of a busy agenda and held professionals to account, chaired the meeting. They used a newly developed traffic light system to record the progress made by professionals in achieving their pledges.
The meeting was extremely well attended by public and third sector organisations, who came to present on the outcomes that they had successfully completed. (direct to outcomes). New stakeholders included Wendy Walker from Wolverhampton Volunteer Centre, who came to introduce the service, how it supports people and the value of volunteering as a potential way into paid work.
Roger Painter, Employment Consultant, presented employment figures from across the West Midland for people with learning disabilities and told the Select Committee that the best performing areas are those with a meaningful written strategy, strong leadership and where there is an assumption of employment from an early age.
Chris Parsons from Adult Education in Wolverhampton shared the success of her pledge in employing a person with a learning disability to work over 16 hours. We heard about the journey that this pledge this took and the barriers that Chris had to overcome to achieve this.
The People's Parliament were thrilled to hear that the Wolverhampton City Council now have a Job Carving Policy, which has been signed up to corporately and will be rolled out cross departmentally. Their Supported Employment Team have got 5 people into work since December 2012, 6 people on their way to jobs with a commitment to another 15 jobs for people with learning disabilities over the next 6 months.
The next Employment Select Committee will be held on November 1st 2013.
Dudley People's Parliament on employment took place on Friday 26th April.
Several MPs; Kevin Tomkins, Alan Slym and Judy Alcock challenged local decision makers about their pledges made at the last Parliament, which took place in July 2012.
Izzy Brant, MP and Chair Person spoke confidently questioning delegates from Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, staff from the Black Country Partnership Trust and the Employment Plus team.
The Employment Plus team shared the lives and experiences of two paid employees; Susan Baker and Roger Jones. We were able to hear about their positive experiences of being in employment, and the valuable work they do in their roles.
The People's Parliament has put employment high on the agenda within Dudley Council gaining support from John Polychronakis the Chief Executive for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, who supported the MPs to hold delegates to account.
The pledges that were made were to create paid job opportunities, write a job carving policy and an accessible recruitment process within Dudley Council and the Black Country Partnership Trust. The MPs held the professionals to account, to make sure the needs and voices of people with learning disabilities and autism are herd and acted upon.
There were many delegates present, including Ian Austin, Labour MP. The MPs for Dudley's People's Parliament were pleased to hear from Mr Austin, and will continue to work with him as he has offered them the opportunity to shadow him either locally or in Parliament to see what his job involves.
All delegates were asked to give feedback on what they had achieved to meet their pledge. The MPs then commented on the outcomes and scored them against a new traffic light system. Some of the positive outcomes achieved included:
Councilor Dave Vickers was also present, supporting the work of the MPs and helping to secure the paid job opportunities the Black Country Partnership Trust had agreed to.
The MPs made it clear if they were happy with the feedback and set further actions for the next Parliament. The work is still on going, and we all hope it will continue to improve the opportunities available for people with learning disabilities and autism.
The next Parliament will take place on Friday 25th October 2013.
Read more...
Several MPs; Kevin Tomkins, Alan Slym and Judy Alcock challenged local decision makers about their pledges made at the last Parliament, which took place in July 2012.
Izzy Brant, MP and Chair Person spoke confidently questioning delegates from Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, staff from the Black Country Partnership Trust and the Employment Plus team.
The Employment Plus team shared the lives and experiences of two paid employees; Susan Baker and Roger Jones. We were able to hear about their positive experiences of being in employment, and the valuable work they do in their roles.
The People's Parliament has put employment high on the agenda within Dudley Council gaining support from John Polychronakis the Chief Executive for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, who supported the MPs to hold delegates to account.
The pledges that were made were to create paid job opportunities, write a job carving policy and an accessible recruitment process within Dudley Council and the Black Country Partnership Trust. The MPs held the professionals to account, to make sure the needs and voices of people with learning disabilities and autism are herd and acted upon.
There were many delegates present, including Ian Austin, Labour MP. The MPs for Dudley's People's Parliament were pleased to hear from Mr Austin, and will continue to work with him as he has offered them the opportunity to shadow him either locally or in Parliament to see what his job involves.
All delegates were asked to give feedback on what they had achieved to meet their pledge. The MPs then commented on the outcomes and scored them against a new traffic light system. Some of the positive outcomes achieved included:
- Dudley Council have created 3 jobs. They were given an amber light, as they hadn't achieved the 5 agreed jobs.
- Lunch on the Run created 4 new jobs for people with learning disabilities.
Councilor Dave Vickers was also present, supporting the work of the MPs and helping to secure the paid job opportunities the Black Country Partnership Trust had agreed to.
The MPs made it clear if they were happy with the feedback and set further actions for the next Parliament. The work is still on going, and we all hope it will continue to improve the opportunities available for people with learning disabilities and autism.
The next Parliament will take place on Friday 25th October 2013.
Back in February the Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust asked Changing our Lives to help them review their value and vision statement. We wanted to make sure that people with learning disabilities were involved, so invited people with learning disabilities from across the Black Country to an event on the 19th of April.
Gemma Caffery hosted the event and started the day with a quiz to wake everyone up! The quiz was followed by a series of interactive activities that gave people the chance to say what was important to them in their life, what they wanted for the future, how should NHS staff support you and what would make the service great.
Staff from Changing our Lives and the Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust worked with people using Ipads and talking mats to get their views and opinions.
Lesley Writtle, Divisional Director for Learning Disabilities gave a short presentation about what her role is and then asked people if they were her for the day what would they improve?
Some of the key messages of the day were that people want to:
The people taking part in the event also had the opportunity to film short messages for the Trust and to have their photograph taken with their 'value'. These photographs will be used by the Trust to remind everyone what people with learning disabilities expect from their services.
Steven Holmes from BCPFT said, "
'A huge success, everyone enjoyed themselves'
'It was great to be listened to, we are the experts we know best'
Read more...
Gemma Caffery hosted the event and started the day with a quiz to wake everyone up! The quiz was followed by a series of interactive activities that gave people the chance to say what was important to them in their life, what they wanted for the future, how should NHS staff support you and what would make the service great.
Staff from Changing our Lives and the Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust worked with people using Ipads and talking mats to get their views and opinions.
Lesley Writtle, Divisional Director for Learning Disabilities gave a short presentation about what her role is and then asked people if they were her for the day what would they improve?
Some of the key messages of the day were that people want to:
- Be seen as a person first and a disability second
- Health professionals should 'talk to me first and not my supporter
- Services should fit around me, not me fit around you
- Ppeople with learning disabilities should not be pushed out and should be seen with everyone else
The people taking part in the event also had the opportunity to film short messages for the Trust and to have their photograph taken with their 'value'. These photographs will be used by the Trust to remind everyone what people with learning disabilities expect from their services.
Steven Holmes from BCPFT said, "
It was clear from the day that people had high standards for their lives including wanting to live in their own home, get married and get a job. They want to be listened to and involved in their own care and treatment. People who attended the day commented that it was:“This was a fantastic day. Having the chance to sit an talk with people in this way about what was important to them, and how we could help them achieve this was very humbling. I look forward to being part of many more similar opportunities".
'A huge success, everyone enjoyed themselves'
'It was great to be listened to, we are the experts we know best'
Wolverhampton City Council commissioned Changing Our Lives to consult with children and young people with disabilities on short breaks services. The aim of the consultation was to gain a better understanding of what short breaks services children and young people are currently using, what they think of short breaks and what they would like future short breaks services to look like. We also talked to young people who are not currently using shorts breaks provision about what activities they enjoyed accessing in their spare time.
We went to three schools in Wolverhampton; The Orchard Centre, Penn Fields and Penn Hall and spoke to 35 children and young people. We planned fun and accessible workshops which young people enjoyed taking part in and were able to contribute in may ways – for example through drawing, speaking or writing. We found that young people with disabilities want to take part in the same activities as those without disabilities.
Exciting news!!
During this consultation, we also were able to identify young people who are interested in becoming young leaders in Wolverhampton. Changing our lives are developing a young voices network which will enable young people with disabilities in Wolverhampton to help shape services locally. This is a really exciting opportunity for young people to have their voice heard and make a difference. For more information, please contact Ellie at Changing Our Lives.
Read more...
We went to three schools in Wolverhampton; The Orchard Centre, Penn Fields and Penn Hall and spoke to 35 children and young people. We planned fun and accessible workshops which young people enjoyed taking part in and were able to contribute in may ways – for example through drawing, speaking or writing. We found that young people with disabilities want to take part in the same activities as those without disabilities.
Exciting news!!
During this consultation, we also were able to identify young people who are interested in becoming young leaders in Wolverhampton. Changing our lives are developing a young voices network which will enable young people with disabilities in Wolverhampton to help shape services locally. This is a really exciting opportunity for young people to have their voice heard and make a difference. For more information, please contact Ellie at Changing Our Lives.
Changing Our Lives is currently working towards launching a new People's Parliament to focus on the rights of people with Mental Health issues. Daniel McNamee, a Self Advocacy Officer with Changing Our Lives, gave an update on the work he has been doing recently:
"As part of the work around developing the Mental Health Parliament I have been doing some community consultation work with people who have mental health issues and have used both community and inpatients mental health services across the Black Country.
To gather evidence to show there is a need for Parliament I have met with people who attend the Making A Difference group at Delta House. During the consultation I asked people what issues they are facing and what the Parliament should be working on. Key themes are emerging. People are finding that professionals who have little or no experience of working with people with mental health issues are completing the assessment processes for benefits. Another issue is employment where people feel there is employment a real stigma about employing people with mental health issues.
To ensure the parliament is fully supported I have met with various Westminster MPs. Travelling to London I met both Kevan Jones and Charles Walker who are both MPs. I presented the idea of a Mental Health Parliament; both were fully supportive.
Following on from a meeting with James Morris MP, James has agreed that the issues from the Mental Health parliament can be fed into the All Party Parliamentary Group in Westminster. Other meetings have included a meeting with Dominic Fisher who is a Criminal Justice Liaison Officer based at Church Vale. The purpose of the meeting was to share the idea of the parliament and gather his views."
Read more...
"As part of the work around developing the Mental Health Parliament I have been doing some community consultation work with people who have mental health issues and have used both community and inpatients mental health services across the Black Country.
To gather evidence to show there is a need for Parliament I have met with people who attend the Making A Difference group at Delta House. During the consultation I asked people what issues they are facing and what the Parliament should be working on. Key themes are emerging. People are finding that professionals who have little or no experience of working with people with mental health issues are completing the assessment processes for benefits. Another issue is employment where people feel there is employment a real stigma about employing people with mental health issues.
To ensure the parliament is fully supported I have met with various Westminster MPs. Travelling to London I met both Kevan Jones and Charles Walker who are both MPs. I presented the idea of a Mental Health Parliament; both were fully supportive.
Following on from a meeting with James Morris MP, James has agreed that the issues from the Mental Health parliament can be fed into the All Party Parliamentary Group in Westminster. Other meetings have included a meeting with Dominic Fisher who is a Criminal Justice Liaison Officer based at Church Vale. The purpose of the meeting was to share the idea of the parliament and gather his views."
Celebrating it's fourth successful year and welcoming Crockets Lane Community Primary School to the Young Voices Network, this year's young peoples forum day was a huge success.
Moving away from the usual style of bringing the Sandwell schools in the Young Voices' network to the Public, this year's event was delivered in the style of a road show working directly in the schools.
Employing the Bristol based company The Poetry Slam and local street dance artist Amy Ince, the young people explored the theme the network have been working on this year, Staying Safe, through creative arts. The Poetry Slam workshop offered young people the opportunity to explore self-advocacy through writing their own poem, illustrating the poems through drama, and finally presenting the poems in the form of a slam.
Some of these poetry slams can be found following the link below: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChangingYoungLives
Facilitated by Amy, the young people flourished in the street dance workshops. The sessions gave the students the opportunity not only to develop the skills associated with street dance and urban dance, but to explore self-advocacy. What was most noticeable is that the young people, especially in Bristnall Hall, really found their voice in the workshop. Some of these young people who find social situations difficult due to their Autism, became entirely submerged in the workshop, and were some of the best performers!
In total 10 workshops were delivered throughout March 2013 working with 207 students, aged 8-16 years old all with a range of disabilities and sensory impairments. The road show visited Victoria Park Primary School, Crockett's Community Primary School, Westminster School, St Michaels and Bristnall Hall Academy
Please enjoy the photographs of the workshops following the links below:
Read more...
Moving away from the usual style of bringing the Sandwell schools in the Young Voices' network to the Public, this year's event was delivered in the style of a road show working directly in the schools.
Employing the Bristol based company The Poetry Slam and local street dance artist Amy Ince, the young people explored the theme the network have been working on this year, Staying Safe, through creative arts. The Poetry Slam workshop offered young people the opportunity to explore self-advocacy through writing their own poem, illustrating the poems through drama, and finally presenting the poems in the form of a slam.
Some of these poetry slams can be found following the link below: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChangingYoungLives
Facilitated by Amy, the young people flourished in the street dance workshops. The sessions gave the students the opportunity not only to develop the skills associated with street dance and urban dance, but to explore self-advocacy. What was most noticeable is that the young people, especially in Bristnall Hall, really found their voice in the workshop. Some of these young people who find social situations difficult due to their Autism, became entirely submerged in the workshop, and were some of the best performers!
In total 10 workshops were delivered throughout March 2013 working with 207 students, aged 8-16 years old all with a range of disabilities and sensory impairments. The road show visited Victoria Park Primary School, Crockett's Community Primary School, Westminster School, St Michaels and Bristnall Hall Academy
Please enjoy the photographs of the workshops following the links below:
Following the abuses at Winterbourne View (Panorama, 2011) there has been lots of debate about how mental health services should support people with learning disabilities.
At Changing Our Lives we believe that the commissioning and development of services should be done in co-production with people with learning disabilities.
With this in mind we worked with 30 people with learning disabilities to find out their experiences and opinions of mental health services, so these views could be used to shape future commissioning and service provision.
"The Patient Journey" report examines what people with learning disabilities told us and outlines the main recommendations for future service development.