LinkLiving is committed to involving service users throughout its activities, ensuring their inclusion in making the decisions and shaping the policies that have a direct effect on their lives.
As the people who really know what it is like to receive support, service users have a unique contribution to make.
LinkLiving's commitment to inclusion reaches into every facet of service provision:
And LinkLiving's commitment is underpinned by the role of the Service User Involvement Co-ordinator.
LinkLiving Service Users' response to reductions in the Supporting People Funding Programme;
The film focuses on how support can make a great deal of difference towards helping people to live a more independent and fulfilling life.
Reducing funding for support can have serious consequences for many people who are vulnerable.
LinkLiving service users and the involvement worker approached the Edinburgh College of Art, who agreed to help film and edit the project.
View Film - Low Quality* (Recommended for dial up users)
View Film - Med Quality* (128k ISDN)
View Film - High Quality* (Recommended for broadband users)
* Requires Windows Media Player.
The six places allocated to service users on the LinkLiving Management Committee reflect the geographic spread of our activities.
New members are encouraged to develop skills, knowledge - and confidence. Training provides a clear picture of committee business and procedures, so that each potential member gets the full flavour of what is involved before making a final decision about joining.
Support for people who want to get involved goes further - access to childminding facilities during meetings is available, for instance. And members can arrange to meet beforehand, so that they can feel more prepared to contribute to the discussion and the decision-making process.
"Initially, when I thought about becoming a board member, I felt scared - but excited. I felt, after being a service user for a number of years, I had experiences that would be valuable; I could influence the running of the organisation by using these experiences ... The confidence this has given me has enabled me to move forward in all aspects of my life."
Virtually since LinkLiving's formation, the people who use its services have been involved in choosing new staff. Panels of service users interview all new support workers and participate in choosing the right person for the job.
Training - to help service users play their part fully in the recruitment process - covers such issues as care standards, equality and diversity, and decision-making.
"The training was a positive experience for me as I learned about prejudice people have within themselves that they might not have been aware of - myself included."
"Yes, it was a positive experience because I felt valued and felt my opinion mattered. It was important for me that I felt important, and I was."
LinkLiving is committed to training and development for staff through a variety of learning opportunities and assistance with obtaining relevant qualifications. Service Users have been involved in designing and developing training for staff for more than three years. The process allows service users to build up their skills as trainers - and have the confidence to deliver.
Staff commented on their training:
"Opened my mind more."
"Made more aware of opinions and values of service users."
"It re-affirmed LinkLiving's ethos of valuing people and encouraging me to keep this a priority in my support working."
A user-led monitoring programme is currently being devised to help service users prepare to interview their peers and find out how happy people are with their services.
Each service works to a plan in which people can become involved in different ways. Activities range from peer education and short courses in child and home safety to fundraising for the local community.
Some of the services produce local newsletters and leaflets regularly. The LinkLiving Newsletter is distributed every four months.
For further information, please contact:
Sue Tait
Involvement Co-ordinator
Link House,
2C New Mart Road
Edinburgh, EH14 1RL
T el: 08451 559 559
Fax: 0131 624 7801
Email
stai@linkhaltd.co.uk
Page last updated on Wednesday, 23 July 2008
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© The Link Group 2008
