Darlington Peoples Parliament
Darlington Peoples Parliament are a group of adults who have a learning impairment (sometimes called a learning disability) and Autistic people.
We are a self-advocacy group which means we work on speaking up for ourselves.
We work on understanding our rights and responsibilities.
We build confidence to speak up for ourselves and others.
Coming to the Parliament group is an chance to make friends and learn new things.
People come along to the group to:
- Have their views listened to
- Find out about their rights
- Meet new people
- Help us fight for disabled peoples’ rights
- Influence and challenge local and national things affecting people with a learning impairment and/or Autism
We talk about important things like health and social care, jobs, housing, anti-social behaviour (like bullying and bad behaviour), training and other day to day things.
Meetings are free to attend.
If you would rather just hear about our work and have your say on a one to one basis or by post you could become a non active member. This means you can get involved without coming to the meetings. Or you might like to just come to meetings occasionally.
We meet on Wednesdays once a month, 11.30am – 3.30pm.
We are also interested in hearing from parent carers, family members or interested parties, particularly those who support a person with complex needs.
If you want any more information contact Jenny Byers on: phone 01325 489999 or text on 07624818780 or email jenny.byers@darlingtondisability.org
If you like information that is in an easier way to understand please visit our easy read and videos section of the website. Click here to get to it http://www.darlingtondisability.org/information-advice/easy
What things are important to Darlington's Peoples Parliament?
STOMP and STAMP
This is about stopping the overmedication of people with a learning disability, Autism or both.
D.A.D. attended a conference in 2019 called ‘Have a Heart for STOMP’ with other self-advocates from Sunderland People First and partners including NHS England and Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
The conference was to learn more about this issue.
Two self-advocates from D.A.D. signed a pledge to say they were going to raise awareness about STOMP.
The self-advocates and their self-advocacy group wrote to local health and social care providers telling them about STOMP and asking them to sign up to the pledge too.
Here are some videos by the Twisted Ducks about STOMP:
Here is some easy read information about STOMP - STOMP Everyone working together to stop the over use of psychotropic medicines and to improve people's quality of life
Language
People tell us that the language used to describe a person is important. Disabled people can often have 'labels' given to them and sometimes this is not a good thing.
Also, there are many disrespectful and hurtful names and words that have been used in the past and still today to describe Disabled people.
Members of Darlington Peoples Parliament have thought about this for a long time. They spoke to the Care Quality Commission, other self-advocates and Darlington's Learning Impairment Network about it. Here is a summary of the 'open letters' written on behalf of the Network - A summary of our open letters to professionals.pdf
Here is an article written on the Citizen Network about Darlington's Peoples Parliament input on the importance of language - The Learning Disability Challenge
Transforming Care
The self-advocacy group learnt about the abuse at Winterborne View in 2011, Connor Sparrowhawk's death in 2013, and how these things fit into Transforming Care. They spoke to commissioners about what good support feels like.
How you can support us
As a local organisation we very much rely on the support of our local community. We support over 2,000 people every year to have greater choice and control and remove the barriers that disabled adults and children experience in their everyday lives. But we need YOUR help.