For the Campaigns and Activism team, the year has been full of ups and downs, as it has been for everyone. But even in a year that has full of hard times and uncertainty, we have found a lot to celebrate. 2021 has seen big achievements in making change happen 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.
.
Vaccine campaign
Mencap’s activism in 2021 started with a bang – or should we say, a jab! In January, the UK’s coronavirus
vaccine
A vaccine is medicine that helps your body to fight an infection in the future.
programme became a source of hope for us all. However, despite a fresh wave of coronavirus cases, people with a learning disability were not a priority to receive the vaccine. This is despite the fact that people with a learning disability were 6 times as likely to die from coronavirus as the general population.
Nearly 10,000 Mencap activists wrote to their MPs, asking them to call on
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
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
Tax is the money that people pay to the
council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. 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
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
(
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.
to make people with a learning disability a priority for the coronavirus vaccine. And within a month, the government listened! We couldn’t have achieved this without our supporters.
Sign our pledge to show your support
Winterbourne View: 10 Years On
In May 2021, activists once again wrote to their MPs for change. May was the 10th anniversary of the Winterbourne View scandal, when BBC Panorama reported on horrific
abuse
Abuse is when someone bullies you and does or says something to you that makes you feel hurt, upset or scared.
and
neglect
Neglect is when you are not being cared for or supported.
at an
assessment
An assessment is a way of finding out what help a person needs. When you have an assessment, you might have to go to a meeting or fill in a form.
and treatment unit (ATU) for people with a learning disability, known as Winterbourne View. We wrote to our MPs and asked the government to publish its action plan on transforming care once and for all.
With the added pressure, the government said it would publish its action plan by the end of 2021. We will keep an eye on how this develops.
Find out more about our campaigning to 'transform care'
Local activism and Treat Me Well groups
Treat Me Well, our campaign to change how the NHS treats people with a learning disability, has achieved some great results this year.
The results have been new learning disability nurse roles, resources to help get the right care for children and young adults moving from children's services to adult care; and training, like the Oliver McGowan mandatory learning disability and autism training pilots.
We have also supported local activism through Treat Me Well groups. Hammersmith and Fulham Treat Me Well have started running podcasts to educate listeners about their Treat Me Well campaigning.
Salisbury Treat Me Well were successful in getting funding for a Changing Places toilet at the local hospital. With more funding, they will produce a series of educational films called ‘Walking in my shoes,’ for both NHS staff and people with a learning disability.
As part of Lincolnshire Treat Me Well, Voiceability Lincolnshire will soon release a short film they created that promotes the Treat Me Well campaign and reasonable adjustments. It is performed by the theatre group, Blackbird Flies, whose members are people with a learning disability.
Throughout the pandemic, local activists have faced new challenges; but keeping up our partnerships proves to be important. We have been able to put local people at the heart of our work.
What's next
With a new COVID variant, we don’t know what 2022 will bring. But we do know that your campaigning makes a difference. Activists campaigned hard for the Oliver McGowan
mandatory
Mandatory means that something must be done.
learning disability and
autism
Autism is a disability. Autistic people find it difficult to understand what other people think and feel. They also find it difficult to tell people what they think and feel. Everyone with autism is different.
training as part of our Treat Me Well campaign, and we know from policymakers that campaigning like this has changed the way the NHS works for the better. It's down to our activists like you!
With our local and national campaigning, Mencap will continue to make the UK the happiest and healthiest place for people with a learning disability.
Celebrate 75 years of Mencap through craftivism
It is all thanks to our activists and changemakers that this happens! Thank you for making 2021 an incredible year!