HOW WE WORK

United Voices develops and supports self advocacy through a network of local area Member Groups with their own constitution and ground rules that meet regularly and engage in activities for the express purpose of developing themselves as individuals and as a group. One of the outcomes of this group work is the growth of peer advocacy where members become advocates and speak up for other people.

Member’s local community involvement currently includes statutory bodies, such as the  social services and the NHS working with their Partnership Boards and Community Teams, Day Centres, Schools and Colleges of Further Education on a range of care and health matters. United Voices have established effective partnership with the voluntary sector, local, regional and national.

As a member-led organisation it is important that staff and volunteers play a facilitating role. Their role is to help members, in groups and as individuals, to take on as much as possible of the leadership, development, organisation and management of United Voices.

OUR BIG PLAN

We have a membership of approximately 150 currently supported by 12 Volunteers. We are putting in place a strategy for increasing the numbers of both members and volunteers and actively developing our register of Citizen Advocates.

Our strategy for the future is to:

· Participate in national, regional and local consultation and review of all matters concerning people with learning difficulties

• Work in partnership with local and national statuary bodies and voluntary organisations, to ensure that all changes that impact on the lives of people with learning difficulties take into account our members’ views
• Become increasingly, a member-led organisation
• In partnership with national and local organisations, provide training that progressively develops the advocacy skills of staff and volunteers to ensure that advocacy is delivered effectively over a wide range of incapacities
• Recruit and train volunteers in all aspects of United Voices work in order to reduce operational costs to a minimum, but still deliver a high quality service
• Educate the public about the value that people with learning difficulties bring to the community