Page 3 - Community Living Magazine 34-4

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The reach of celebrities makes

Community LIving
their support a force for good

ISSN 0951-9815
Volume 34, no 4, summer 2021 ur powerful interview with Katie Price (page 14) about her fight on behalf of her
son Harvey can teach us much. She has had to fight a battle against a perfect
Published by Ostorm of prejudices – disability, race, class and sex – to bring the issues that face
CL Initiatives Ltd
Link-Ability, Conway House, Ackhurst Business Harvey and hundreds of thousands like him to public attention.
Park, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 1NY She has done an excellent job of this, with a high public social media profile,
television documentaries, campaigns with Mencap and much other work beside.
 www.cl-initiatives.co.uk
 clienquiries@outlook.com Some bemoaned the fact that it took a celebrity, in the form of the radio DJ Jo Whiley
t @CommLivingmag_ highlighting the situation of her sister Frances, to persuade the vaccination committee
f www.facebook.com/ to prioritise all people with learning disabilities.
CommunityLivingMagazine
 01257 241899 They might also ask: why should it take another celebrity, in the form of Price, to bring
attention to disablist trolling on social media and the problems of transition? Why, they
Editor ask, do these matters only come to public attention when raised by celebrities?
Simon Jarrett, simonjarrett1@outlook.com
There are two answers. First, Both Price and Whiley are authoritative and credible, given
Publisher and subscription enquiries their family experience, and they give as much of a voice to Harvey Price and Frances
Jo Adshead, Link-Ability (address as above), Whiley as to themselves. Neither asks for favours – both campaign on behalf of all people
clienquiries@outlook.com
with learning disabilities.
Production editor and designer Second, we do not have
Christy Lawrance, www.clcomms.com the luxury of turning down We do not have the luxury of turning
Research editor celebrity support – and down celebrity support – and why on
Julie Ridley, reader in social policy and why on earth should we?
practice, University of Central Lancashire In an ideal world, the earth should we? Their work to raise

Contributors public would not have to the profile of people with learning
Photographs and interviews: Seán Kelly, be alerted to issues by
www.seankellyphotos.com people with a high profile. disabilities is commendable
Illustrator: Robin Meader, robinmeaderartist@
gmail.com, https://tinyurl.com/robinmeader However, as we all know,
Legal: Belinda Schwehr LLM, the world is not ideal and
legal framework trainer and consultant, people such as Whiley and Price can reach many who would otherwise remain unaware.
Care and Health Law, belinda@
careandhealthlaw.com They are a force for good, and their work to raise the profile of people with learning
Welfare rights: Charlie Callanan disabilities is commendable. As Price says, “I will show disability should be accepted in
Arts: Tracey Harding everything” – and that is a slogan we can all get behind.
History: Susanna Shapland
Columnists: Simon Duffy, director, Centre for
Welfare Reform; Jan Walmsley, independent End ‘learning disability world’, end the scandals
researcher; Sara Pickard, disabled people’s Many of the problems facing people with learning disabilities arise from an underlying
employment champion, Welsh Government;
Suzanne Gale, social care consultant public and political belief that they do not truly belong with “the rest of us”.
This belief can create the impression they somehow live in a different world – one of
Editorial Board services and support where other rules apply. When things go wrong in this world, it is
Jo Adshead, chief executive, Linkability
Helen Atherton, lecturer in nursing, University regrettable but somehow just part of the wider tragedy of having a learning disability.
of Leeds In this way, scandals of abuse and neglect can recur over years and, while people find
Noelle Blackman, chief executive, Respond them upsetting or even horrifying, they can be seen as an unfortunate, inevitable
Jo Clare, consultant and coach, leading
Innovation and change consequence of the world people with learning disabilities are destined to live in.
Debbie Forde, senior lecturer, School of Social Two articles in this issue give the lie to this. Susanna Shapland’s account of the role
Work, University of Central Lancashire people with learning disabilities played in society before the asylum and institution
Isabelle Garnett
Simon Jarrett craze of the 19th century (page 30), shows communities can be flexible and adapt to all
Gill Levy their human members, however marked their differences.
Gabby Machell, Chief Executive Learning The same unconditional sense of inclusion shines out from Stephen Unwin’s
Disability Network London (formerly the
Westminster Society) wonderful account (page 26) of how his tweet of a photo showing the love between
Sue Pemberton, chief executive, Integrate father and son went viral, prompting hundreds of families to respond in a similar vein.
Lynne Tooze, independent sexual violence Our ancestors did it, families do it – we can all create inclusion if we set our minds to it.
adviser, Respond
Sally Warren, managing director, Paradigm Our articles on mixed ability sport (pages 16-17) and DanceSyndrome (page 18) show
that organisations established with the sole purpose of inclusion and that reject the
Printed by false assumptions of exclusion can bring about huge changes in people’s lives – not just
Character Graphics, Taunton,
Tel 01823 279008 the lives of those with learning disabilities.
Setting up organisations, communities and services that begin with the person, and
© CL Initiatives Ltd 2021
building flexibly around them can be hugely successful, as the work by Nicola Bartzis to
Cover images: W8 Media Company registered in England no 7530680 achieve a life for her son George outside assessment and treatment shows (page 12-13).
Registered charity no 1141176
A bit of flexibility to create belonging – is it too much to ask?
Simon Jarrett

www.cl-initiatives.co.uk Editor Community Living Vol 34 No 4 | Summer 2021 3