The Dawn of a New Decade - time for togetherness

The evening of the last day of the decade - 31st of december 2009. It has been a decade which has promised much but failed to deliver the lives that people with disabilities and their families long for. We have seen apparently radical policies which have not translated into brilliant lives. There has been an army of people charged with putting policy into practice but the mechanisms have, for the most part, failed the people they were set up to serve. There has been an astonishing amount of waste as partnership boards and related  groups have struggled to translate the values and intentions of policy into local people living better lives. Millions has been spent on person centred planning training and other worthy innovations but so many people continue to lead small mediocre lives as service providers make grand claims about the person centred services they provide.
The decade to come must be grounded in deeper reflection about what it really takes to enable people to live the kind of lives non disabled people take for granted. People with disabilities themeselves and their allies must take power so that those who are charged with supporting them deepen their understanding of the assistance people really want. There must be a shift away form service thinking towards community thinking in which people are seen not as service users but are seen as citizens - a shift from recipients to participants.
A willingness to live the values of equality will set people free. Social inclusion must be at the core of all developments and communities must be trusted to develop in ways which respect all of their members. The development of more empowering arrangments for purchasing support offer grounds for optimism but these new models alone will not be enough.

The power shift that is needed is political and is rooted in the authentic voices of people who have been kept separate for too long.

Many new acts of togetherness are needed - deep listening and understanding and the courage to act on what is heard. I meet this new decade filled with energy and the determination to be part of this change. My own commitment is to 'be the change i wish to see in the world' - the shift from separation to togetherness. I intend to energise and celebrate the authentic voices of people who know how it is to live without power and to share in the wisdom of those who know what this deep change takes.

The very best wishes for the decade - lets celebrate the diversity in every community and put an end to the wasted lives which diminish us all.

"All of us need people who want to be with us"


Andy

Welcome to the Frameworks 4 Change Blog!

Frameworks 4 Change lives the values of equality to create togetherness in the lives of people who are too often kept separate. The focus of our work has been with children and adults with learning disabilities and we now also work with older people, particularly with dementia, and people with mental health issues. We are inviting a radical shift - from separation and lonliness to compassion and togetherness.

We are deeply concerned about the neglect and abuse which is a feature of the lives of many people with dementia - please contact us to join our work to address the culture that creates this misery for people and their families.

We have worked with organisations such as Grapevine, Mencap, the Department of Health, Turning Point, MCCH, local authorities and primary care trusts, POhWER, Southside Partnership, Action for Advocacy, Age Concern England, British Institute of Learning Disabilities, Southdown Housing, Parchment Trust and the Coventry Partnership Board. We have also worked with many other individuals and their families to create brilliant lives.

We are doing this because we are unsettled by the lives many people with learning disabilities and other marginalised groups still lead, and we believe more action is required - to change culture and address the deep-rooted power issues which keep people separate. The government White Paper, Valuing People (2001) invited a power shift which hasn't happened. Personalisation and Valuing People Now (2009) offer hope but we feel strongly that we must not allow more lives to be wasted.

Andy Bradley, the founder of Frameworks 4 Change, regularly speaks at high profile national conferences about the need for a radical power shift, so that people with learning disabilities, older people with dementia, and others can live the lives they deserve.