Tag Archives: Self advocacy

Reconnect Through Music

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Today’s Reconnect Through Music group was full of energy, laughter, and incredible talent. In total, our members performed an amazing 28 songs 🎤✨, and each performance brought its own magic to the room. 🌟

Matilda shone with her powerful rendition of Believe by Cher 🌈, while Ffion and Amy teamed up for a lively performance of Rehab by Amy Winehouse 🍷. Sean had everyone smiling and moving along to My Boy Lollipop by Bad Manners 🍭, and Ellysia wowed us with her version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley 🤯. Natalie brought a touch of pop sunshine with Flowers by Miley Cyrus 🌸, and Jackie gave a heartfelt performance of Back for Good by Take That 🎶.

As the performances flowed, everyone gathered together to enjoy a delicious hot dog lunch 🌭 lovingly prepared by Christy, Cheryl, and Helen 👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳. This provided a lovely opportunity to relax and chat with friends. We’re grateful to Sharon and Libby 📝 for helping with the paperwork, and to Pete the caretaker 🛠️ who made sure everything was set up and ready before we even arrived.

The feedback we received today really shows how much the group means to people. One member shared, “I made more friends” 🤝, while another said, “I love singing and seeing friends” 🎵. We also heard, “I wish it was every week” 📅, and perhaps the best compliment of all: “You can’t improve this session – I love it” 💖.

Overall, today was a truly joyful session filled with music, friendship, and community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making it such a success! 🎉

Online Hate Crime Training

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✨ A huge thank you to Noah for delivering the online hate crime training today ✨

Our members really enjoyed the session and gave some great feedback on what they learned:

Andrew – learned how to make accounts private and how to report hate crime.
Ffion – learned the same and found it very useful.
Theresa – found it helpful, especially learning not to answer phone scams.
Morgan – enjoyed everything and learned more about staying safe and interacting with people.
Mark – said he liked it all.
Amy – found all the information helpful, learned more about staying safe, and said it was fab!
Gethin – said it was great for information.
Olivia – found it very interesting and learned about safe settings.
Christy – said the training was very detailed, delivered in an easy way to understand, with a fun ice breaker and interesting conversation throughout.
Stu – said the information was easy to put into practice, very friendly and accessible.

💡 Members also learned that hate crime can be reported to Victim Support, as well as through social media platforms if abuse happens online.

👏 Overall, members said the training was informative, enjoyable, and easy to understand. Thank you again Noah for supporting our members to feel safer online.

Reconnect through Cookery ✨👨‍🍳

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On Friday our members prepared lots of fresh vegetables 🥦🥕🌽🥬 – we had cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, peas, and carrots to go with our delicious cottage pie 🥧.
We made it using 5% lean mince 🥩 and topped some with cheese 🧀 (and left some plain for those who prefer it that way!). Best of all – zero waste 🙌👏.
Everyone enjoyed the meal ❤️ and feedback is always fantastic! Huge thanks to everyone who helped out in the kitchen 👏, to Nat for sorting bingo & the quiz 🎶🎲, and to Peter the caretaker for setting up the hall 🙏.

💚 Why Healthy Eating Matters 💚
Eating fresh vegetables and balanced meals helps boost energy ⚡, improves mood 😊, supports overall health 🩺, and gives our members the confidence to try new foods 🍴.
These sessions make a huge difference by:
✨ Reducing isolation & loneliness 🤝
✨ Building independence and life skills 🥄
✨ Encouraging teamwork & confidence 💪
✨ Bringing joy and friendship to our members 💛
📌 Our next Cookery session: sausage dinner with vegetables and onion gravy 🌭🥔🧅.
🎵 On Wednesday we’ll be back together for Reconnect through Music 🎤🎶.
Thank you all for another lovely day 💛

Gardening at TARAGGAN

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Today at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens we planted garlic 🧄 and onions 🧅! It was lovely to see Kyle and Sam, and a big thank you for teaching us and sharing your knowledge. 💚

Gardening has so many benefits – it helps us learn new skills, enjoy the fresh air, keep active, and connect with nature 🌿☀️. Most of all, it brings people together and makes us feel part of something special. 🌸 Thanks again to Kyle and Sam – we can’t wait to watch everything grow! 🌱👩‍🌾👨‍🌾

National Council Meeting

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Report written by member Ffion Poole:

Amy Jones – supported by Ffion Poole – recently attended the All Wales People First National Council meeting at The Grand Hotel in Swansea. After introductions, the first agenda item was to go through the minutes of the last meeting. Next came the Chief Executive’s Report during which, in Joe Powell’s absence, Kurtis gave an update on LD Mag.

National Council reps then spoke about national actions, during which Amy provided feedback we have received from our members. Amy said that our members would like longer GP appointments, easy read letters from their doctors, and more annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. She also shared that our members said there needs to be more support in mental health services for adults with mental health issues, as well as people with learning disabilities.

Kelly then gave a communication update and said All Wales People First are in the process of making updates to how Talkback is distributed to members. We also spoke about the WhatsApp group for National Council reps, and came up with some rules the reps had to agree on.

After lunch Tracey shared the draft manifesto that All Wales People First has been putting together, and members shared their experiences with Direct Payments, and answered some questions from a consultation document about Direct Payments. It was a really interesting meeting and it was lovely to see everyone!

Reconnect Through Music 🎶

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What an amazing session yesterday – we had over 30 songs sung by our talented members! 🎤💫
🌟 Matilda wowed us with “Kiss Me” by Olly Murs
🌟 Ffion and Amy gave us a blast from the past with “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League
🌟 Rebecca sang beautifully with “Flower” by Miley Cyrus 💖
🌟 Anthony gave us a few tunes – our favourite was “Love Me Tender” by Elvis 💕
🌟 Hywel touched our hearts with “How Great Thou Art” 🙌
…And so many more incredible performances! 🥳
We also tucked into a lovely buffet – thank you to all our amazing volunteers and a big shoutout to Peter for setting up! 🙏💐
It was also lovely to welcome a new member into the group – we can’t wait to see you again!

Fun and Games!

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Our members have been having loads of fun playing darts, snooker, and ping pong, thanks to a very generous donation! There have been plenty of smiles, laughter, and a few friendly competitions – our members love taking part, especially when they’re winning! 😄💪🏆
A huge THANK YOU to the very kind person who donated the kit – it means so much and has already brought so much joy. 💛🙌

Disabled People’s Rights 10-Year Plan!

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Last week we met with Tracey Drew from All Wales People First and our friends from Swansea Self Advocacy Groups 💬🧑‍🤝‍🧑
We talked about the big 10-year plan to make life fairer for disabled people in Wales 💪🌍
✅ We shared our thoughts on what’s good
➕ We said what could be better
💡 We gave ideas to help improve the plan
The plan includes: 🏠 Independent living
🧑‍🏫 More training & jobs
🏥 Better healthcare
🚌 Easier transport
📄 Info in Easy Read
🎤 And making sure our voices are heard!
We were proud to speak up and be included! 🙌🧡

Summer Vibes Party

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We hope you all had a WONDERFUL day at our Summer Fiesta! 🎉🌞
The sun was shining ☀️, the disco was buzzing 🎶🕺, and the games were packed with fun – from limbo, basketball 🏀, to hula hoops! 🔥 Everyone got involved, and even Peter the caretaker dressed up for the occasion! 🎭👏
The decorations looked amazing 🌺🌈, the food and ice cream were delicious 🍔🌭🍦, and the dancing was fantastic 💃🕺 – you all brought the vibes!
💛 Massive THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who helped make today such a special one. You’re the best!