I’m really happy to have an article, “Use Your Voice”, published in the current issue of the always wonderful PosAbility magazine. It’s also available to read on the PosAbility website here.
The feature is about how disabled people can use our experiences of living with disability, whether campaigning for policy changes or blogging about what it’s like to live with our conditions. I talk about my role as a member of mental health social work charity Think Ahead’s Service User and Carer Reference Group, where those of us with lived experience of mental ill health are involved in the recruitment and training of future mental health social workers. I’ve been a member of SUCRG for around two years, and it’s really rewarding to be able to share my experiences to help improve services. I always enjoy our meetings and getting involved in teaching activities with Think Ahead. I also talk about how I started a group for disabled students when I was an undergraduate, and how we campaigned for change on campus and made sure disabled student voices were heard at the university.
As well as talking about my own experience, the article gives examples of how disabled people can find opportunities to get into a variety of lived experience work. We all have something valuable to offer by sharing our stories, and I hope that this article inspires others to get involved.
Caroline Butterwick 