By Mencap
Shining a light on mental health
In May, we launched our Listen to Us campaign. More than 600 campaigners wrote to their MPs to make sure councils had the resources to reinstate vital day opportunities for people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
. As well as securing a meeting with the minister responsible for social care, we had a question raised in
Parliament
Parliament is a group of people who make laws and check what
the government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much
tax
Tax is the money that pays for things like schools, hospitals and the police. There are different types of taxes like
income tax
Income tax is the money that is taken out of the money you earn every month. It helps to pay for things we all need like hospitals and schools.
,
VAT
VAT is also called Value Added Tax. VAT is the extra money you pay when you buy things. The money goes to the government to pay for things like schools and hospitals.
and
council tax
Council Tax is the money that people pay to the council. It helps to pay for things like social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
.
people should pay and how things like the National Health Service (
NHS
The NHS is the National Health Service. The NHS gives free healthcare to everyone in the UK and includes things like your GP (doctors) surgery and hospitals.
) should work.
is doing.
too.
Kathy, a campaigner in Solihull, said:
Raising awareness of mental health issues is very important to me. It can be frustrating when the waiting lists are too long for people that need help quickly and this can lead to a crisis. It’s important that these appointments are done face to face. I have contacted my MPs several times about these issues and finally, I have had a response. They will come to our Learning Disability council group in the New Year!
Do you have a story about your mental health you would like to share? Get in touch with us here.
A Parliamentary event to remember
To mark Learning Disability Week in June, over 70 people with a learning disability helped host a reception in the Houses of Parliament. As well as sharing copies of our report exploring loneliness, COVID-19 and mental health, people were invited to share their stories with the MPs who attended.
Campaigner Anna said:
I met other campaigners across the country. Mencap's MythA myth is an idea about something that is not true. Buster, Brendan, did a fantastic speech about loneliness and his experiences. I met MPs Mark Harper and Nigel Huddleston and spoke to them about issues that are important to me and my group. Lots of people liked the bunting Wirral Mencap made, which had messages about what was important to people with a learning disability for example, meeting friends and getting involved
Involved is being included in something or taking part in something. in campaigning. I would love to be part of something like this again!
Priced Out and Forgotten
The cost of living crisis has hit the UK hard – we knew we had to act. We launched a cost of living hub in July, and lobbied for legislation to stop councils taking cost of living payments to pay for social care. Over 2,000 campaigners signed a petition that helped secure a rise in benefits in line with inflation.
Ismail, Parliamentary and Government Officer at Mencap, said:
I am pleased that the government has increased benefit payments in line with inflation, but feel this should be done sooner than April 2023. The government should be doing more to help the most vulnerable
Being vulnerable means being at risk of harm, or that you need special care because of your age or disability. people in society deal with rising bills. The winter is when we see a spike in energy use for disabled people as they need to use more energy to stay warm or use medical equipment. The resources we have produced will help people understand this crisis.
Learn about the learning disability register
We worked with campaigners to develop new resources in languages including Bengali, Urdu, Polish and Romanian to help people from diverse communities learn about the learning disability register which helps people get an
annual health check
An annual
health check
A health check is when you see a nurse or doctor so they can help you to stay well.
is when you see a nurse or doctor once a year so they can help you stay well. Everyone aged 14 or over who has a learning disability should be invited for an annual health check.
and reasonable adjustments from their GP practice.
Zahida, who worked with people with a learning disability in Rochdale to create some of the new resources, said:
It’s very important to reproduce these resources by involving people from different communities because they can easily miss this information due to a lack of awareness as well as language barriers. Therefore, through initiatives like this, I believe we can reduce health inequalities and overall improve engagement with resources that will improve outcomes.
Looking forward to 2023
We’ve got a lot more work to do in 2023 if we’re going to make the UK the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives. Here are three ways you can be part of the movement for change!
- Invite a friend to become an everyday activist.
- Tell us your hopes for 2023 – what change would you like to see?
- Stride into the new year and take on Mencap’s One Big Walk.