Our beliefs

WHAT WE BELIEVE! We are working towards communities where everyone, including people who have learning disabilities or mental health needs is recognised as a valuable citizen, equal to everyone else in every way. So we believe that each person…
Should choose how to live their life:
	Being an equal member of society or a ‘citizen’ means that everyone has important rights and responsibilities.
	Each person’s life is special, and they should be able to control the way their life is organised. Any help or support they need should be set up in a way that fits with who they are as an individual. This must allow them to take their rightful place in the community.
	We need to listen carefully to each other, especially when people find it difficult to make themselves understood and may not use words to communicate.
Can grow, learn, work, and have fun with other citizens.
	Individual people and big organisations should try to work together and co-operate as a ‘partnership’.
	Everyone – people who have disabilities, or are ill, family members, friends, paid staff, volunteers, and other members of the community – they all need to keep talking together.
	Learning, education and training should be about what is important in the day-to-day life of each person.
	Valuing and respecting other people (whatever their disability or illness) is often a more powerful way to bring about change in their lives than complicated ideas or ‘theories’.
	There are no easy and simple answers to our problems, but if we have strong beliefs about what is important, we should try to put them into action to make things happen.
	We may not always agree about everything, so sometimes we need strong leaders whom we trust and who believe the same things we do about what needs to change.
Has something important to offer to the life of the community:
	Everyone has gifts and talents – we just need to discover them.
	We should respect people’s choices and (if they need it) help them to understand what’s available and possible.
	People should be able share a life in the community with everyone else, go to the same places and get to meet lots of different people.
	Relationships are important to all of us - this usually means having friends and family around us. It also means having a social life, experiencing love and sexual relationships.
	Communities can learn from the wisdom and good ideas of people who have learning disabilities or experience mental distress. We believe that each person has it in them to change the world (even in a small way) and we should celebrate together whenever this happens.
May need support from time to time:
	We often depend on other people or they depend on us. We all need help and support at some time in our lives. It does not matter whether this is from family and friends or from people we pay, as long as we value their support.
	Keeping safe and healthy is important and sometimes we need help in an emergency. The supports we have should be able to respond quickly but they should always be careful not to take over or deny a person’s rights.
	We oppose any attempt to deny individual human rights.
	Good planning means that the important people in a person’s life should be involved. This includes family, friends, school or college mates, people at work, or people we have fun with, so everyone can help the person to get a better life and make them feel they belong in the community.
	Most staff began their careers with good intentions and a promise to provide good quality services but they can sometimes lose hope and feel like giving up. We can help to restore the hope and the belief that things can get better.
	Many people may need help for a long time (or even for many years) so it is important that they have the same people they know and trust around them. Sometimes involving other people with new ideas can help too.
	We must also put our energy into working with people who hold power and authority (like politicians, and leaders) so that everyone, (including people with learning disabilities or mental health needs) has a chance to say what they think, and is listened to and respected, so that we can work towards communities where everyone feels important and valued.
This statement of our beliefs was agreed by the Team in December 2004.