Our Voice Our Choice
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
We are pleased to report that our application to become a registered charity was accepted in January this year.
A small group of us went to the All-Wales People First “Ad fest” conference this year. This was our first national conference and we supported each other. The theme was on our Human Rights, and we attended many workshops over the two days, and we also attended the “Mirror” awards in the evening.
We are hosting monthly Health workshops with the learning disability Liaison Nurses from the Health Board. There will be twelve workshops in total and the topics range from “Annual Health Checks” to “Healthy Eating”. These workshops are fully interactive and include “Easy Read” workbooks and material.
We have a representative on the All-Wales People First National Council which meets every three months. Our representative takes forward issues which specifically affect Ceredigion’s Learning-Disabled community as well as feeding in on national policies and strategies.
We are active members of the All-Wales People First “Regional Council” which also includes representatives from Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. At these meetings we raise issues relating to Public Service provision in our region such as public transport and policing.
We are active members of the “Dream Team” along with Pembrokeshire People First and Carmarthenshire People First. The Dream Team works in partnership with the Health Board and Local Authorities on service design for the Learning-Disabled community. The Dream Team also develops its own projects such as the “My Rights” charter which has been adopted by many organisations across Wales.
The ”Innovative Care Fund” is a Welsh Government grant for projects for Learning Disabilities. We have members who sit on the assessment panel for Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire. The panel assesses, awards monitors and produces a final report on the projects awarded grant funding.
Members raise local concerns through the Ceredigion Disability Forum. Through this forum members also work with Ceredigion County Council to ensure that consultations are produced in the “Easy Read” format and that the views of people with a Learning Disability are heard.
As a new organisation we recognise that partnership working is essential in our development and we are grateful to All Wales People First, Carmarthenshire People First and Pembrokeshire People First for their support and warm welcome into the People First family. We wish to extend a special thanks to Mencap Ceredigion who initially identified the need for a self-advocacy and campaigning group in Ceredigion and for their support in the creation of our group. Working closely with Mencap Ceredigion and its members we can jointly identify future projects which will benefit our local Learning-Disabled community here in Ceredigion. We are looking forward to further developing Our Voice Our Choice and ensuring that our community has a voice in Wales.
Charity Name: Our Voice Our Choice
Charity no: 1201554 Report Title: Annual Accounts Accounting Period: 12[th] January 2023 – 31[st] July 2023.
Starting Balance 13.01.2023 £14,255.07
Income
| 20.01.2023 Pembrokeshire People First (Grant) | £1000.00 |
|---|---|
| 30.03.2023 Pembrokeshire People First (Expenses) | £128.40 |
| 06.04.2023 All Wales People First (Expenses) | £58.50 |
| 06.04.2023 All Wales People First (Expenses) | £173.74 |
| 30.05.2023 Pembrokeshire People First (Grant) | £1000.00 |
| 19.06.2023 Misc | £17.00 |
| 31.07.2023 Misc | £32.39 |
| Total Income | £2,410.03 |
| Expenditure | |
| HDUHB Workshops | £623.50 |
| Ofce | £960.40 |
| Promotonal Material | £284.10 |
| Events | £2892.03 |
| Volunteer Costs | £901.22 |
| Travel | £1774.28 |
| Misc | £11.70 |
| Total Expenditure | £7447.23 |
| Closing Balance 31.07.2023 | £9217.87 |