Central Advocacy Partners has offices in both Falkirk and Stirling, providing independent advocacy and a range of inclusion services to adults and young people with learning disabilities. Their partners, KEY Community supports, also help adults with learning disabilities across the Region.

Elizabeth Findlay, manager of Central Advocacy Partners, said: “We are delighted to have been successful, especially given the calibre of the rival bids.

“The funding will allow us to build closer working relationships with all services across Forth Valley, establish themed groups for those who are looking to use services on offer and increase awareness of services that are available to people in their communities.“

The funding secured by Central Advocacy Partners in partnership with KEY Community Supports forms part of the Scottish Government’s Self Directed Support scheme and will continue until 2015. Two full-time Net Workers will be employed, delivering a Central Networks Project across the Forth Valley including the ‘Living a Life’ programme.

Central Advocacy Partners was approached by KEY Community Supports, following its successful development and delivery of the ‘Living a Life’ programme in other parts of Scotland.

Leam MacKeown, Development Manager (Participation and Social Inclusion) at Key Community Supports, said: “We developed the Living a Life programme to help people explore what is happening in their local communities, find out ways of getting involved and consequently widen their social networks. Through the programme an inclusion action plan is completed helping participants to focus on what they want to do and how they can impact on their community. The course enables people to look beyond traditional services to make friends, build their confidence and explore ways of maintaining and building existing and new relationships.”

 Through Living a Life, participants have worked on a variety of locally based initiatives from gardening and woodwork to fundraising.

For more information on Central Advocacy Partners and KEY Community Supports, visit: www.centraladvocacypartners.org.uk and www.keycommunitysupports.org

Notes to editors

Central Advocacy Partners

• Central Advocacy partners are funded by Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils, the Big Lottery Fund, The Henry Smith Charity and Awards For All
• During the past year Advocacy into Action and Stirling’s Quality Action Group worked with more than 200 service users

Further Information

Bob Hanlon (on behalf of Central Advocacy Partners/KEY Community Supports) 

We would still like to welcome potential volunteers to register their interest with us or arrange an informal chat to discuss opportunities. We are hopeful that all going well with future funding we will be able to offer the right people a place on our volunteer training and envisage this to take place in April/May this year.

Local author Alan Bissett formally launched a new service for adults and young people with learning disabilities across the Forth Valley Area.

Local charities Quality Action Group of Stirling & Advocacy Into Action of Falkirk & Clackmannanshire have recently merged to become Central Advocacy Partners. The new organisation was officially unveiled at Stirling’s Tolbooth theatre on Friday to an audience of councillors, social services staff and service users from across the Forth Valley.

The new partnership will provide independent advocacy and a range of inclusion services to adults and young people with learning disabilities.

The critically acclaimed author of Boyracers and Pack Men gave his endorsement of the newly formed service.

“Having a say in the decisions that affect our lives, be it at work or to do with where we live, is something that most us take for granted”, he said.

“Sadly the views of people with learning disabilities are often lost or not taken into consideration. It is great to see Central Advocacy Partners taking its lead from the people who use the service.”

Central Advocacy Partners will serve the needs of hundreds of adults and young people from throughout the Forth Valley.

Elizabeth Findlay, manager of central Advocacy Partners, said: “Working as one organisation will allow us not only to pool resources and expertise, but increase the level and scope of services we can offer.

“Ensuring that adults and young people with learning disabilities have their voices heard and can contribute in the decision making processes that impact upon their lives, is of paramount importance.”

The official launch of Central Advocacy Partners included music by Artlink, a live canvas-based interpretation of the event by artist Ramon Carr, and a short film by Small Majority, highlighting the personal experiences of service users.

Check our channel out here

We produce accessible information. This is when we make sure that information we provide is in easy to understand English, and has graphics. We help others to do this too. We try to make people stop using jargon this is when people use big words that you don’t understand.

We also deliver Training to raise awareness on learning disability issues. All the people on our training teams are adults with a learning disability we think that the message we teach should come ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’!

We are always looking for new volunteers who would like to be involved in influencing services for people with a learning disability. Please contact us if you would like to help make a difference.

The Drop-In on Wednesdays is still the heart of the rural project. People who come along have the confidence to have their say, and a lot of the planning for the rural programme happens at the Drop-Ins.

The rural study group has been running in a successful partnership with Forth Valley College for seven years now. The group members have been working on Citizenship over the last year. Individuals have built good relationships within their community.

We have a Sub-Group meeting where we talk about our ideas and suggestions. We all have a real say in what we do. The activities chosen are put into a programme and sent out to all group members so that they know what is on, and when.

The Drop-Ins are a fantastic service which gives opportunities, provides friendships, involves group members in their community, and provides lots of fun.

We always really look forward to the new things we will be doing over each coming year. Such as information sessions, activities, learning about where we live, how we can all get involved, and how we can all contribute to the health of our community.

CAP Newsletter December 2011

Older Newsletters

Newsletter Number 16

Newsletter Number 17