by Seb Moh, Quality and People Director
I am conscious that Everyone Everywhere is just that – about Everyone. I know some people have found that being creative and making sure everyone is included can be a stretch. But we have realised that when we start with our gifts, skills and passions, then start to look outward, great things happen.
It’s about us all being intentional. About making small changes in how we think and how we work!
Wheathampstead Village Day
I want to shine a light on the work that happened recently in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, where the chance to help others and good leadership resulted in those intentional connections.
Raj Parmar, Frontline Manager, tells us
We went to visit the Wheathampstead Community Group who are an amazing group of local residents. They support and run various initiatives to make sure people who live in the village feel connected. They have always been really supportive of MacIntyre and we wanted to be able to give something back. They asked if we could support their Village Day and we agreed to add to the vibrancy of the event with a stall and a performance from the MacIntyre Dancers.
The people who draw on our support aren’t all able to tell us or be physically involved. So we needed to think creatively. How could we make sure they felt part of the day?
We thought about making things to sell that are the things that they like and are important to them – relating to sparkly jewellery and animals. We had the skills in our staff team to create some beautiful things. We thought about games that were sensory so everyone could be involved. And how we could share information with families who are coming up to adulthood. It was really great to get us all involved and working towards this goal. We were going to help but we were getting so much out of it too
Afterwards, we heard from Jess Sutton, our Autism and Self-Advocacy Lead:
I had a good experience! It was a nice day. I think we all worked together well to make the day go as good as possible. I am not sure that much could have been done better, really!
Change for the better
The day, and the experience of talking to people, made me reflect that things are slowly changing for the better for autistic people and those with a learning disability.
What MacIntyre is doing, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, is showing that we can all help each other and become more visible and connected.
So we are playing our role in that change for the better.
