Host Ashleigh and guest Kevin, Midland Mencap’s Volunteer Manager, share inspiring stories and practical tips for creating inclusive volunteering opportunities for individuals with a learning disability.
By promoting inclusion and challenging stereotypes, volunteering for individuals and people with a learning disability can help create a more inclusive society.
Listen now to learn how you can support volunteers with a learning disability or create inclusive volunteering opportunities.
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Are you ready for an insightful and engaging episode of the Citizen Chat podcast? Join host Ashleigh as she sits down with Thomas Pocklington Trust’s Senior Engagement Manager Louise and Sight Loss Council volunteer Meena to discuss the vital role of Sight Loss Councils and the everyday experiences of living with a visual impairment. Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation that will leave you with a greater understanding and appreciation for those with visual impairments.
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Midland Mencap is a charity which works and campaigns for accessible and inclusive services and a better quality of life for everyone with experience of learning disabilities and additional needs. Midland Mencap is one of the West Midlands’ leading learning disability charities with a strong, respected and established reputation for excellence and innovation.
Sight Loss Councils, funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust, are led by blind and partially sighted members. We tackle local issues and work with businesses and service providers to improve the accessibility of their services.
To Learn more about Sight Loss Councils and Thomas Pocklington Trust visit pocklington-trust.org.uk
Join us on the Citizen Chat Podcast as Ashleigh sits down with Sarah Lilly from Cerebral Palsy Midlands to discuss the unique and inspiring journey of growing up as a young carer for her sister. From the daily challenges her family faced to the impact it has had on her professional career, Sarah shares valuable insights and experiences that will leave you feeling moved and motivated.
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2022. What a year!
We’ve had an incredible 365 days. From launching new services, to expanding our team, meeting with citizens, carers, and parents; it’s been a busy yet bright year for Midland Mencap.
That’s why we wanted to look at our year in review, month by month. To shine a light on how every month of 2022 we have supported people with a learning disability and their families across the Midlands.
New Services
This year, Midland Mencap launched a variety of new services and opportunities to get involved in the work we do. 2022 saw us launch the Walsall Carers Hub, the Learning Disability Wellbeing Service and new Volunteering roles.
The Walsall Carers Hub was introduced this year as an extension of Forward Carers and our Family Carer’s team. Based in Walsall, the Walsall Carers Hub offers a wide range of support and services to unpaid carers in Walsall. To learn more visit walsallcarershub.org.uk
Mid-way through 2022, we launched the Learning Disability Wellbeing Service, previously known as Supporting People. This new service now supports over 400 people with a Learning Disability across Birmingham. From assisting with healthcare appointments to getting the right benefits, maintaining a home and help with budgeting, this team ensures all citizens can access the right care they need.
This year we re-launched our Volunteering offer. Volunteering with Midland Mencap is a great opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people with learning disabilities. The volunteering opportunities are varied and often rewarding, ranging from working with our Children and Young People’s team, to being a Trustee and more. We look forward to offering more chances to get involved in the new year. Check out our blog for more information.
Events
To say this year has been a busy one would be an understatement. We’ve hosted so many community events that you’ve all been involved in. This summer was fabulous, with a heat wave to match.
We started our 2022 events calendar with International Women’s Day in March. We celebrated and #eMMpowered women from across the West Midlands and the sector. With presentations, a delicious buffet and concert from a local singer, we saw hundreds of citizens, carers and professionals come together to learn more about the services we offer for women in our local area.
The summer saw two more events take place – the Queen’s Jubilee and Learning Disability Week Get Creative Day.
Our Jubilee Party was a roaring success! We hosted hundreds of people, from across Birmingham and the West Midlands, for a day of fun, celebration and activities. The Weoley Castle Community Centre was decorated in red, white and blue Union Jacks everywhere and the BBQ was manned by the wonderful Community team at Midland Mencap.
Our Get Creative Day followed on from this, as our way to celebrating Learning Disability Week. We hosted a variety of activities at Weoley Castle Community Centre, including arts and crafts, creative writing, baking sessions and drama workshops. We provided citizens and their carers with new ways to express their creativity and stretch their skills.
Our Children and Young People’s team offered various events for families across the West Midlands. We received funding from Tesco Community Fund to run October half-term fun days at Ackers and a Scout Camp site in Coventry. Families were able to experience new activities, such as canoeing, an inflatable obstacle course, and tobogganing down dry ski slopes together. These sessions were accessible for all and enjoyed by everyone involved.
Projects
Over the course of 2022, we’ve led a huge range of projects, across every team at Midland Mencap. We’ve provided citizens with new experiences, support for carers in Birmingham and encouraged creativity through new sessions.
Midland Mencap and Forward Carers teamed up this year to host two on-going sessions for carers in Birmingham. Carers could experience monthly Musical Meet Ups at Symphony Hall, where local artists would perform a lunchtime concert for them. It gave them a chance to take a break, listen to some of the best sounds in Brum and a chance to engage with our Family Carers team.
Speaking of music, we also launched a project with Henry Liggins called ‘Creative Minds’. In these regular sessions, citizens could learn more about music theory, learn songs and instruments, with the goal of recording them in a real recording studio. The recording session happened earlier this month and you can check out the final track here.
This year, we recognised that it was our duty to offer exceptional support, guidance and service, regardless of who needed it. That’s why we launched the ‘Warm Spaces’ and bought a new Bungalow. The Warm Spaces project was in collaboration with Birmingham City Council, offering a place for the local community to come, enjoy a heated area, with hot drinks and food to purchase. We met people where they were at and ensured our newly launched Community Café was being put to the best use, to serve the people of Weoley Castle and South Birmingham in their potential times of need.
In addition, we took this same mentality in the purchase of our new Bungalow in Quinton. We fully renovated and kitted out a property for a citizen to live in. Originally living in a high-rise tower, with limited working elevators, our citizen now has a place to call home that is accessible and inclusive. Check out the renovation process over on our YouTube channel.
Beyond these practical projects, we offered employment skills workshops and volunteering opportunities through our PURE team working with Fircroft College. We hosted a graduation for citizens who had had placements and workshops with us and our partners. If you’d like to hear more about employment opportunities and skills you can learn, get in touch with our PURE team here:
Our final new project was launched by our Communication and Marketing team. A podcast! You may have seen a few of our monthly episodes already. Ashleigh Jones is our resident host on the show, ‘Citizen Chatter’, and has been interviewing some incredible guests. We have big plans for 2023, so watch this space. Catch up on all the available episodes via any podcast stores or our YouTube channel.
Wider West Midlands
Of course, we couldn’t give you a year in review without talking about our wider services across the West Midlands. This year we launched our Worcester Adult Services, had the Flyerz Festival in Coventry and Walsall continued their weekly activities.
The Flyerz Festival was the first grassroots inclusive disability hockey event that was ahead of the Commonwealth Games. We partnered with Access Sport and England Hockey to host over 100 participants throughout the festival, whereby disabled and non-disabled players came together to join in the fun. It was a huge success, seeing people from across Coventry and the West Midlands learn more about accessible sport.
Whereas over in Walsall, our Hub team continued their weekly timetable and saw a regular group of citizens develop their skills, make friendships and experience new places through day trips and sessions. You can catch up with what the Walsall team are doing through their Twitter or our Facebook page.
2022 saw our Worcester team officially launch day sessions for Adults in the area. From trips and experiences, to sessions that broadened their skills and friendships, we’ve seen a growing level of success in this new service we host. We’re aiming to broaden the Worcester service even further in 2023, so watch this space!
On-Going Services
Our final portion of our Year in Review is our two on-going services: Parkride and the Citizen’s Network Panel. They’ve seen steady growth with more people coming along to get involved in local activities, improve their health and wellbeing, and use their voices for change across the West Midlands.
Ashleigh Jones, our Include Me Coordinator, launched panel meetings this year. Every few weeks, citizens and their families could express their opinions and thoughts about having a disability or long-term health condition in the West Midlands, and what life is like. This year saw more face-to-face sessions as well as being accessible with meetings over Zoom too. Our next meeting is in January 2023; details can be found via our website.
Overall, it’s been another brilliant year. We’re so proud of our citizens, families and teams for all they have achieved. We’ve supported more communities than ever and we can’t wait for what 2023 brings!
If you would like to learn more about any of the services we offer at Midland Mencap:
Call: 0121 442 2944 or
Email: HCS@midlandmencap.org.uk
This International Day of People with Disabilities Ashleigh caught up with Mark Fosbrook and Alex Giles from Activity Alliance and spoke about their lived experience of having a disability.
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To support the local community with the current Cost of Living crisis, Midland Mencap have joined the network of Warm Welcome Spaces across Birmingham.
We will be hosting free access to Weoley Castle Community Centre, Bottetourt Rd, Birmingham B29 5TE every Monday to Friday between 11am – 1pm.
You will be welcome to come in to our Community Cafe to stay warm and access support and resources.
Here’s what we have on offer:
• Access to free computers and tablets
• Free Wi-Fi
• Free plug points to charge mobile phones or tablets
• Access to tabletop board games
• Access to newspapers, magazines an quiz books
• Access to Children and Young People games and toys
• A lunchtime café with a selection of warm food and drinks (items will require a small fee)
• Friendly volunteers and staff, offering support and specific guidance
For more information:
Call: 0121 427 6404
Email:communityhub@midlandmencap.org.uk
For full details of the Warm Welcome venues across Birmingham, visit:
https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/directory/73/warm_welcome_spaces_in_birmingham
Looking for something fun to do on Wednesday evenings?
Do you want to participate in fun activities with young people for aged 11-18 years old?
Do you want to try something new?
Wednesday Evening Youth Club is the place for you!
Activities on offer
Gaming, sports, arts and crafts, film nights, Trips to the cinema, bowling, mini golf, and much more.
Where: Weoley Castle Community Centre, Bottetout Road, Birmingham B29 5TE
When: Every Wednesday Starting Tuesday 6th September
Cost: £7.50 per session
For more information please contact:
Email: Gemma.Farley@midlandmencap.org.uk
Call: 0121 427 6404
Have you ever thought about volunteering? But kids and childcare and errands and, and, and… don’t worry, we understand – life is busy!
There are many benefits to volunteering and here are 5 Reasons why you should make time to volunteer:
1. Improve Your Skills
Volunteering can improve your skills in a whole host of different ways. From communication to teamwork and time management, you’ll develop various skills that could be mentioned on your CV. Employers are always looking for excellent interpersonal skills and volunteering, even just a few hours a week, can really help with that.
2. Improve Your Mental Health
Helping and supporting others around you can improve your own Mental Health. Being able to focus on someone else can reduce the feeling of stress and improve well-being. This, in turn, can improve your confidence and self-esteem and bring a more positive outlook in new situations.
3. The Feel-Good Factor
Supporting a cause you are passionate about can give you that warm feeling inside, that you’re doing something good in your local community and for something you are passionate about.
Here at Midland Mencap, we love getting volunteers involved in our projects and want them to feel like they are giving back in the way they want to.
4. Meet New People
In a world that spends their life super-glued to their phone, volunteering offers that small window of opportunity to meet new people in your local community.
Whether you spend time with our citizens, wider Midland Mencap team or other volunteers, you’ll be able to form meaningful friendships with those around you.
Our Community and Group Befriender roles are the perfect examples of this and would be excellent if you want to spend quality time with citizens within the West Midlands area.
5. Gain New Experiences
Volunteering can allow you a few hours a week or month to experience something new. Whether it be through supporting an event or campaign we run or at some of our weekly sessions, you’ll find yourself making memories and learning more about your local community every time.
We offer a wide range of roles to get involved in. Whether you want to stick with one role or swap every few months, we can ensure you’ll have a fantastic experience volunteering with us, whatever you decide to be involved in. You can even attend taster sessions and find the role you.
If you’d like to get involved with us as a volunteer, check out our Volunteer Roles, click here.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Join Ashleigh and Curtis for the Episode 2 of Midland Mencap’s Citizen Chat podcast. It is run by people with Learning Disabilities, giving their experiences and support for those who also have similar disabilities or long-term health conditions.
This Month they talk to Sarah from the Birmingham family carers about her own experience of being a carer.
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Join Ashleigh and Curtis for the first Midland Mencap’s Citizen Chat podcast. It is run by people with Learning Disabilities, giving their experiences and support for those who also have similar disabilities or long-term health conditions.
In this episode Ashleigh and Curtis talk about entertainment, the Netflix show ‘A Typical’ and what listeners should expect for future episodes.
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