Hi readers, it’s me, Kerry here this week, talking with Ellie, as we have been doing some work together with People First Dorset (PFD). Ellie is chair of the Management Committee (MC) at PFD, a group of elected members, all with a learning disability, who help make sure PFD runs well.
First Ellie, can you tell everyone more about the work of the MC? Hi everyone, it’s me, Ellie, and thank you for reading this.
I think the MC is a hugely important part of PFD, which is a user-led charity. This means we are led and run by our members, in our case, people with a learning disability. Our role on the MC is to listen to all our members, find out what is important to them, then make sure it happens. Our role is also to support trustees to make sure PFD is run well.
Having trustees sitting alongside the MC works well for us. We have tried lots of ways over the years to make sure ‘lived experience’ is at the heart of PFD. Many of our members don’t have the skills to make the difficult, complex decisions that trustees sometimes have to do, especially financial or legal ones. Or overseeing safeguarding concerns that members share, happening to them in the community, or making decisions if finances are tight and redundancies have to be made.
We prefer, and are best placed, to help with the strategic direction of PFD, helping oversee operations and making sure all our members voices are heard.
Today we’ve met up to talk about an online meeting we’re attending, to help with a national report which explains why self-advocacy is important and needs funding. But we’ve run out of time, so more about that next week!
The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff
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