Right to Be campaign shifts into gear

Parents, carers and people with a learning disability are planning to ask public authorities to live up to their responsibilities in the organisation’s Right to Be campaign in the west of Northern Ireland.

“We want to see an improvement in services for people with a learning disability, parents and carers across the west. We want public agencies with responsibility for health, education and transport to make services work for people,” said Ian Hayes, from Omagh and member of the Western Action Group.

Caroline Kelly, an Action Group member from Enniskillen in Fermanagh said:

“We believe that people with a learning disability, their parents and carers have different needs throughout their lives, and we want to see those needs reflected in the services provided by public agencies in the west. We have drafted a Right to Be manifesto that we want everyone to know about.”

The Right to Be campaign is coordinated by Mencap’s Western Action Group and aims to tackle:

1. insufficient access to short breaks for parents and carers
2. inadequate transition arrangements for people with a learning disability moving from children’s to adult services
3. an absence of employment support for people with a learning disability that are not attending day centres
4. limited availability of information about learning disability for people living in isolated rural areas
5. poor transport in the area.

The Action Group - one of four in Northern Ireland - will begin by writing a report on the issues for people with a learning disability in the west of Northern Ireland. It will be availablethis autumn.

More information

Alan Sheeran, campaigns manager at Mencap
028 9069 1351