Vote For My Life My Choice This July 2019
My Life My Choice is a self-advocacy charity that is completely user-led for people in Oxfordshire who have learning disabilities.
There are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK, yet people with learning disabilities are among the most disadvantaged groups in society.
Only 7% of people with learning disabilities are in paid employment, they are 2.5 times more likely to have health problems than other people, and 25% interviewed by Mencap spent less than one hour out of the home each day.
My Life My Choice uses self-advocacy and support to target these inequalities and improve the lives of people with learning disabilities. Self-advocacy is a movement of people with learning disabilities taking control of their own lives. It means speaking up for what they want and being listened to, and being able to choose things for themselves.
This is They are all About at My Life My Choice!
Their members are at the forefront of everything they do. They have 15 trustees and they all have learning disabilities. They run a variety of innovative, user-led projects in which people with learning disabilities are paid at the Oxford Living Wage. These projects include a monthly learning disability nightclub, a peer-led Travel Training Scheme, a user-led research, consultancy and training enterprise as well as 10 self-advocacy groups. These projects support people with learning disabilities to speak out, learn skills, gain confidence and lead their best lives.
They have won many awards for our work, including the Queens Award 2017; Oxfordshire Charity of the Year 2016, and Prime Minister’s Big Society Award 2013.
When asked about being part of My Life My Choice, their members Jackie said, “It's made me more confident and has helped me with my reading. I like talking with people and getting them to think about things. I really like Power Up because it gives me the opportunity to get people to not look at my wheelchair but look at me, the person.”
You can find out more about everything they do on their website: www.mylifemychoice.org.uk or follow them on Twitter: @mylifemychoice1 or Facebook @1MLMC to keep up to date with what they do.