A number of the remaining #107days are shared days, and today is a powerful duo of H&SA and BILD. Alicia, from the Housing and Support Alliance (H&SA) and Ann, from British Institute of Learning Disability (BILD) both got in touch to adopt a day with a real urge to do something to make progress. We are delighted at the actions they have taken and feel confident that they will support real progress towards #JusticeforLB and all dudes.
So, first of all why did they want to get involved with supporting #107days and #JusticeforLB? Alicia, from Housing & Support Alliance had this to say:
H&SA is supporting #JusticeforLB firstly because Connor and his family only wanted something simple and straightforward, to get the help they needed and had a right to in difficult times, and it ended in the most unimaginable tragedy. We know that people with learning disabilities that have the most complicated needs can and do get good help, a good place to live and the support they need to live there. It is doable and affordable yet all over the country there are still many people with learning disabilities and families getting poor and mediocre support, being sent away from the people they love because there is no decent support locally and being needlessly hospitalised when all they need is for professionals to listen and respond. It is an outrage.
and Ann from BILD:
Like so many, we at BILD, the British Institute of Learning Disabilities, were dismayed to hear of the death of Connor Sparrowhawk, yet another young person dying whilst in ‘care’.
We were then shocked, again like many others, when the independent report made it clear that his death would likely not have happened had the right kind of support been in place in the unit where has was staying. We can only imagine the distress of his family and friends knowing that his death was preventable.
So many people with learning disabilities and autism have suffered from the lack of the kind of support they have every right to expect and should have. Too often organisations who are there to provide care and support fail to do so. It is people with learning disabilities and autism, and their families, who pay the greatest price.
Then we saw that the organisers of #107days wanted to harness the outrage that emerged in response to Connor’s death to fuel a campaign aimed at ensuring lasting changes and improvements are made. We wanted to join in.
As you can see they both wanted to help make real change. Alicia and her team are doing this:
To support the #107 days campaign H&SA are going to do something practical to help get people with learning disabilities out of institutions. In the latest Winterbourne View Concordat data it says that are 2358 patients living in ATUs that do not have a transfer date. There are various reasons given for why most of those people do not have a transfer date. For 165 people it says that the reason they are still there is that there is not suitable housing provision locally.
H&SAs commitment to #107days is to try and find out what the local issues are and offer help to get housing for each of those people. We will do this by:
- Contacting each of the 14 commissioners who have responsibility for moving people on
- Finding out what the local issues are
- Offering support, information and contacts to help all of those people get housing.
- We will publish the responses from commissioners on the #107days site (later today) on the 10th June 2014
Also happening today is BILD’s action and you can follow it and participate on twitter using #BILDepilepsy.
To show our support we decided to organise a free event on 10 June, called, ‘Epilepsy – what matters?’, aimed at front line staff, families and anyone interested in epilepsy and people with learning disabilities and or autism. As well as the sessions taking place in Birmingham, we will also use the web, social media, and BILD’s many members, to help raise awareness of the issues around epilepsy support for young people with learning disabilities and or autism.
We are delighted to say that the event is full and there was a waiting list.
The topics the event will cover are:
- Epilepsy misdiagnosis
- Epilepsy and behaviour
- Describing seizures
- Epilepsy – Isn’t that just seizures?
- Impact of epilepsy on learning and behaviour
- The link between epilepsy and autism
We are very grateful to Pam Morris, Nurse consultant, and Emma Tingley, the National Services Programme Manager for Young Epilepsy, for being our speakers, and to Janet Cobb for helping to organise and promote the event.
Beyond 10 June, we will capture the available information on epilepsy in young people with learning disabilities and or autism and make sure this is available on the BILD website for visitors and those looking for support.
We would like to wish the #107 Days Campaign every success.
You can check out the programme for today below, and join in on twitter. We’d like to thank the Housing & Support Alliance and the British Institute of Learning Disabilities for their actions.
#107days 