Keele UniversityFaculty of Health
School of Nursing and Midwifery
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£3,000 HE Social Entrepreneurship Catalyst Award
"...this project will actively listen to, and engage with, people with a learning disability about what is important to them at times of loss and bereavement..."
Dr Sue Read (School of Nursing & Midwifery) has been awarded a £3,000 HE Social Entrepreneurship Catalyst Award, funded by Hefce & the Millennium Awards Trust combined, through UnLtd*. This award will enable her to work with two advocacy charities (Reach, at ASIST, Staffordshire; Voice Self Advocacy group, Wrexham) to develop and produce an accessible resource for mutual peer support for bereaved people with a learning disability, developed in collaboration with people with a learning disability.
It is estimated that there are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK (Mencap, 2009), yet they still remain one of the most marginalised, socially devalued groups in society. People with a learning disability often have very good ideas and a wealth of personal experience to share with professionals. Professionals simply need to respect these ideas; value such contributions by actively listening; and respond to these ideas in a supportive way. As project lead, this grant will enable me to work alongside groups of people with a learning disability and their advocates to develop a resource to support personal loss and bereavement in a creative and innovative way. It will also strengthen the reciprocal collaborative working links between the HEI (Keele University) and the two advocacy services for people with learning disabilities in Staffordshire and Wrexham.
Therefore this project will actively listen to, and engage with, people with a learning disability about what is important to them at times of loss and bereavement; redress the social capital imbalance of people with a learning disability in community contexts when experiencing loss and bereavement; and empower individuals with a learning disability to develop effective mutual support mechanisms. Ultimately it will produce a client centred, accessible bereavement and loss resource using clear and simple language.
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