Page 14 - Community Living Magazine 34-1

out of the institution

Right to a real home people living in institutional care and
their families.
The chair of the committee, Harriet
Harman MP, said: “Even in normal
circumstances, there is not sufficient
A coalition of campaigners has come together to put pressure protection against abuse of young people
on the government to end assessment and treatment scandals with autism and/or who have learning
once and for all. Isabelle Garnett reports disabilities who are at risk of abuse.
“But the risk is even greater under
lockdown with parental visits banned in
some institutions and without routine
en years have passed since BBC inspections… There’s always a danger to
Panorama shed light on horrific vulnerable people in closed institutions.
Thuman rights abuses at The Covid-19 lockdown increases that
Winterbourne View. This documentary danger and the government must
prompted the government’s promise to recognise it and take action.”
“make homes not hospitals” happen for
people with learning disability, autism or Self-advocates aim for change
both living in inpatient units. In the wake of these events, a group of
In May last year, Panorama yet again concerned self-advocates got together
exposed mistreatment and abuse in an and discussed what they could do to bring
inpatient unit, this time at Whorlton Hall. about change.
Sadly, these revelations are not isolated As self-advocate Aisha Edwards
incidents. They are echoed in numerous explains: “Stuff like this shouldn’t have
cases covered in the media, including in happened in the first place and we don’t
Community Living (see box, opposite page). want it to happen again. Imagine if it was
In a decade, what has changed? The you. You wouldn’t be happy.”
answer, appallingly, is not enough. NHS The group of self-advocates reached out
England’s Transforming Care programme, to other organisations and campaigners.
which aimed to make homes not Edwards explains how it was important
hospitals a reality for people with Jamie on #right2home: “Having my own flat, for her “to get everyone’s opinion on it
learning disability and/or autism, came to going to college and doing voluntary work” and how they feel about it… so that
an end in March 2019, missing the targets everyone’s voices are heard”.
it had set itself. The coronavirus-related restrictions And so, the #right2home campaign
As you read this, there are still more have increased the risk of people began, bringing together self-advocates
than 2,000 people with autism locked up reaching crisis point and going into secure from across the country (Bemix, Lewisham
in mental health units, with an average care. It has caused further delays to Speaking Up, Pathways Associates and
length of stay of more than five years. people moving out from institutions into Sunderland People First), organisations
Ten years on from Winterbourne View, homes of their own. Inside these (Learning Disability England) and
children, young people and adults with institutions, people are more isolated individual campaigners, including Mark
learning disability and/or autism continue than ever from their family, friends Brown of #RightfulLives, Leo Andrade of
to be denied their rights to a home and and advocates. #StrippedOfHumanRights and myself of
family life. These are basic rights that are In June this year, the parliamentary #HumanToo (see box, left).
vital to any human being’s physical and Joint Committee on Human Rights (2020)
mental health. raised concerns about restrictions on Five days of action
#right2home’s first action was to run
a five-day social media campaign in
The #right2home campaigners the week beginning 18 May, illustrated
with memes showing photographs
● ● Pathways Associates – community of people saying what #right2home
interest company: www. means to them. Each day had a
pathwaysassociates.co.uk different theme:
● ● Lewisham Speaking Up – self-advocacy ● Day 1. We must remember In the
group: www.lsup.org.uk middle of everything that is going on,
● ● Sunderland People First: http:// it’s easy to forget what happened at
sunderlandpeoplefirst.com Whorlton Hall
● ● Bemix – self-advocacy group in Kent: ● Day 2. It’s about human rights People Julie Newcombe: Jamie; Learning Disability England: advocates
www.bemix.org/self-advocacy A group of #right2home campaigners with autism and/or a learning disability
● ● Learning Disability England: www. have the same rights as everyone else
learningdisabilityengland.org.uk ● ● Rightful Lives – campaign group: but they are denied them. That is not
● ● Stripped of Human Rights – campaign ● ● https://rightfullives.net right in our society
group: www.facebook.com/ ● ● Human Too – campaign group ● Day 3. It’s about homes People
strippedofhumanrights ● ● https://humantoo.net shouldn’t live in hospitals – what they
need are homes

14 Vol 34 No 1 | Autumn 2020 Community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk