Tuesday 3 December marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
To celebrate, we’re looking back at the achievements of people we support, many of whom have made a positive difference within their communities in the last year, and have helped to raise awareness of people with learning disabilities and the things they can achieve.
One of these people is Sally, who is supported in Gloucestershire. In June, she began to notice a large amount of litter in her local area and felt concerned about its harmful effects on animals and the environment. After discussing it with her housemates and support workers, Sally decided to share her concerns with her local MP and take action by organising a litter picking event in her local community.
The budding eco-warrior took on all aspects of planning the event – from finding a safe area where it could take place and sourcing equipment to recruiting people to take part and teaching others how to use the long-handed grabbers. When the day of the litter pick came round, Sally led a safety talk and then kept participants motivated throughout the event.
The day was a huge success, with six people supported by Hft and six staff members joining in with the community effort, and other people living locally approaching the team to discuss the impact of littering in the community.
Sally said:
“I was so pleased that so many people came to take part in the litter pick and supported me to make it a great success. Everyone that took part enjoyed doing something positive in the local community and said they would like to do it again. I learnt that forward planning is important and that organising an event is a lot of work.”
