Sheffield Voices

Who we are

We are a group of people with a learning disability who meet at the Circle on Rockingham Lane. We are a self-advocacy group. We meet once a week to talk about what matters in our lives.

The Sheffield Voices group is led by people with a learning disability themselves.

We are committed to learning how to get better at self-advocacy and give other people a chance to get involved. We want to look forward to a time when we don’t have jargon for describing an activity that most people take for granted.

For more information click on the heading:

• Getting involved with the Sheffield Voices group
• Group meeting for your Diary
• Virgin Lounge meetings
• Things that the group have done
• What we did this month
• Coming soon
• What is self-advocacy?
• History of Sheffield Voices
• Aims for Our Group:*
• Our Hopes for the Future:

• Getting involved with the Sheffield Voices group

  If you are interested in knowing more about us, want to learn about advocacy or you have some skills that you want to share, please get in touch with us:

  Disability Sheffield: 0114 2536750

  We meet once a month on Thursdays 10.00am – 12.30pm at The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield, S1 4FW please contact us if you are interested in joining. Please bring a packed lunch with you. Tea and coffee provided.

• Group meeting for your Diary

  We meet once a month on Thursdays 10.00am – 12.30pm at The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield, S1 4FW please contact us if you are interested in joining. Please bring a packed lunch with you. Tea and coffee provided.

  Dates for your Diary

  Thursday 16th January 2020
  Thursday 12th March 2020
  Thursday 14th May 2020
  Thursday 9th July 2020
  Thursday 10th September 2020

• Virgin Lounge meetings

  

  Thursday 13th February 2020 Join us at the Virgin Lounge, Orchard Square, 66 Fargate, Sheffield for a fun-filled morning and the opportunity to talk about the things that matter to you. Refreshments available. See map

  Dates for your Diary

  Thursday 13th February 2020
  Thursday 16th April 2020
  Thursday 11th June 2020
  Thursday 13th August 2020

  Download Flyer for Virgin Lounge

• Things that the group have done

  • Arts and Crafts
  • Social events
  • Welfare Changes ( Benefits )
  • Lobbying ( had meeting with Nick Clegg )
  • Host Hate Crime Awareness at conferences

  Talks and discussions on….
  
  • Access to the Countryside
  • Crime and Punishment
  • Jobs and Voluntary Work
  • Choosing where and how to live
  • Healthy Eating
  • Health Care
  • Housing Plan
  • Bullying and Hate Crime
  • Transport
  • Family and Relationships
  • Being Safe Out and About
  • First Aid

• What we did this month

  

  We talk about how people with learning disabilities how to vote general election.

  60% of disabled people in the UK do not vote according to MENCAP.

  There has never been a more important time to exercise your rights to decide who you want to run our country with the current issues around the erosion of our welfare state and the dismantling of the NHS.

  Sheffield Voices has been looking at some reasons why people with a learning disability and Autism do not register to vote and why its important to vote. Don’t loose YOUR Vote!

• Coming soon

  This week we will be working on our bullying awareness campaign. Let us know if you would like to come along and talk about your experiences. We will also be working on devising games that illustrate the consequences of bullying in a non-threatening way.

• What is self-advocacy?

  Being able to support and speak up for people in a friendly way. Having your say and getting your voice heard. Having choices, having control in your lives. Being listened to.

• History of Sheffield Voices

  

  Sheffield Voices started in 1997 and at that time was called SUFA.

  The first steering group met at Voluntary Action Sheffield with the idea of starting a self-advocacy group for people with a learning disability and independent of Social Services and Sheffield Health.

  We went round to various groups to see what people wanted, then got funding for a support worker. After that we joined with Sheffield Citizen Advocacy (SCA).

  1999 Our Vision, Our Future –came to Sheffield about being a self-advocacy group.
  1999 – a development worker was recruited.

  Our contract ran until 2010 with Sheffield Council, when we decided not to go through the tendering process. Since then we have formed our own self advocacy group under the umbrella of Disability Sheffield.

• Aims for Our Group:*

  • Encourage people to join in
  • Learn New Skills, open our eyes to new things
  • Keep information simple
  • Support each other to solve problems
  • We have social activities and go out for meals
  • We swing through the highs and low of what is good and bad in our lives
  • Learn about our rights
  • Make our views known to people like the Council, Sheffield Health, managers of services
  • Promote Advocacy

• Our Hopes for the Future:

  To reach out to more people with a learning disability to get more members.

  To work with other organisations to make sure the voices of people with learning disabilities are heard.

  Develop our plans to go for funding.

  Labels are for Jars Not for People

  You can view our Disability Hate Crime video here.

  For information on Advocacy Services please click here