We are really pleased with the recent £155,000 grant decision from the Big Lottery Fund for new work supporting adults with learning disabilities. Speak Out will run a group advocacy programme and drop-in run for people and by people. It will enable people who come to Speak Out to support each other and campaign on issues that affect them. This could mean anything from improving housing, public transport or choice and control over food through to training council service providers, campaigning work like the staying up late campaign, or secret shopper surveys. Its all about helping people who are unheard get heard so that disadvantage and discrimination gts tacked. Remember that in Brighton and Hove there are 5000 people with learning disabilities and most get little or no public service support of any kind – 798 out of 5000 get any kind of social care support. So well done to Speak Out. This is a rare success with less that 1 in 5 applications supported. I am pretty chuffed too having drafted the project bid with Speakout!
This is even better in top of the investment in Hollingdean Development Trust and the half a million in grants and contract wins at the tail end of last year.