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Independent Living | Zetetick housing donate to Croydon People First
Zetetick is delighted to have been able to giveback to Croydon People First with a donation, and Judith Chambers, our Director of Housing, presented them with a giant cheque for £3,000 on 24th May. The happy recipients were Geraldine O’Shea, Director, and Sedley Wilson, Chair.
Croydon People First is a registered charity that started up in 2008. It is a user-led organisation that supports adults with learning difficulties and learning disabilities who live or work in Croydon and empowers independent living.
So many charities need support and it’s important those in the non-profit or third sector work together to help those who are so easily marginalised by society. Zeteticks giving fund was set up to help organisations like Croydon People First continue to empower people with disabilities in independent living.
Independent living is being free to do what you want
Geraldine O’Shea, Director of Croydon People First said:
Jonathan Spencer, Zetetick’s Deputy CEO said:
The vision
Croydon People First has a vision for people with learning disabilities or learning difficulties in Croydon. They encourage and help their members to be able to make choices about their lives, have a voice in local decisions and to enjoy a good quality of life.
What does independent living mean?
Recently Croydon People First asked its members to say something about what independent living means to them. Some of the answers were:
- “Being free to do whatever I want.”
- “Making my own decisions.”
- “You don’t have to worry about others nagging you when you come home late.”
- “I can go and come back whenever I want.”
- “Doing my washing by myself.”
- “Taking medication by myself.”
These are all things that most of us take for granted, but things that people with learning disabilities often have to fight for. Zetetick believes that people with learning disabilities have the right to make their own decisions about their lives. Why shouldn’t they?
User-led
Croydon People First is a user-led organisation, and their Management Committee all have learning difficulties. It is often incredibly empowering to be part of a user-led organisation, as people with shared experiences come together to create a space that is more accessible and open, where people can learn from each other.
Croydon People First’s peer support meetings encourage members to take an active role in supporting others as well as asking for support for themselves.
Accessible information
Croydon People First issue a regular newsletter for members in easy read and different formats to make them accessible for everyone. They provide information and advice on a variety of topics, focusing on independent living.
Training
Croydon People First also provide training courses on learning disability for local employers and service providers. All the trainers have a learning disability so can speak from their own experience, and courses and workshops are aimed at the existing workforce as well as training on how to employ people with learning disabilities – an area where people face a lot of discrimination.
It is so important that awareness is raised about the lives of people with learning disabilities – how much they are capable of doing and how much they are able to contribute to society in general as well as the common obstacles they face, as this is so often misunderstood or overlooked. And who better to communicate this than people with learning disabilities themselves?
New projects
Croydon People First have lots of plans in the pipeline. One of these projects is to start new men’s & women’s groups to create more ways of making their services more accessible to their members, and this should get off the ground shortly.
If you would like too find out more about Croydon People First and the great work they do with independent living then have a look at their website: https://www.croydonpeoplefirst.org.uk/
Find out more about Zetetick’s values that are the BEDROCK of what we do here: Our Values | Zetetick | Supported Housing