For the Campaigns and
Activism
Activism is taking action to make change. Going to a campaign event with others, writing letters and speaking up are all ways to take action.
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 people should pay and how things like the National Health Service (NHS) 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 and neglect 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!