It Takes 2 - final report published - Avenues Group

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It Takes 2 – final report published

Friday 14th of June 2019

Dancing together

Our lottery-funded project to support people with learning disability to build meaningful social connections has been completed.

Between 2016 and 2019 two Community Workers supported eighty six people who had a learning disability to create personal profiles and a portfolio that showed what they liked and wanted to do more of. They used this to find out where and how people could be introduced to others.

They focused on supporting people into new clubs and groups, introducing people who might not otherwise meet, opening up positive roles people could play in their communities and helping people spend more time away from home.

Key findings:

  • People who have a learning disability benefit from connecting with others based on shared interests, growing in confidence and positivity outside of all-encompassing specialist provision.

  • Contribution and involvement in the community has a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

  • Continuity of support is vital to many people and yet there is no statutory measure of it, and people’s community experiences are inconsistent.

The project was subject to a participative evaluation involving the production of four thematic studies and annual reporting against the agreed project outcomes.

The evaluation report, which has been submitted to the Big Lottery aims to:
• Increase awareness of loneliness amongst this population who rarely feature in mainstream published literature
• Add to the evidence base surrounding the causes of social isolation and feelings of loneliness amongst people with a learning disability
• Start a bigger conversation about the systemic barriers that exist within the social care system itself that inhibit the
development of social networks and fuller lives

You can download the report here: 

Full version (pdf)

Easy read (pdf)

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