Enable Ability launches its first co-production group led by people with disabilities

What is co-production?

Co-production is where different parties come together to give their views, ideas and suggestions to a given project. So that everyone’s point of view is taken into consideration and all the information is gathered when potentially creating something new.

This week, Enable Ability organised the gathering of ten adults with disabilities. We got together at MAKE at Aldingbourne Enterprises to discuss topics that will make a difference in our city and ultimately, give people with disabilities a voice.

We couldn’t have had a better group to kickstart our co-production work, there were some excellent ideas which were communicated brilliantly. Certainly impressing Michelle Cowley who kindly gave up her time to attend the meeting, Michelle coordinates the 13-25 year old co-production group called Dynamite. The new over 25 group plans to continue the hard work Dynamite has already done, with many of the 25 year olds from Dynamite starting the transition over to the older group, joining James who leads the initiative for Enable Ability.

James Donougher, Project Leader for the over 25’s group, said “We were thrilled at the prospect of coordinating such a brilliant initiative for a first time, we have lots of exciting plans to take this group to new heights, creating a positive impact for others with disabilities in our city and making change”, he continued to highlight “people with disabilities are often forgotten about, they are the nicest people I have ever met and yet, they come across the biggest hurdles in life which they have to overcome, just to get by; whether that be finding a job, living and travelling independently, making friends and trying to confidently communicate with people. The majority of these tasks may seem relatively easy for the average person, however a learning disability can make these tasks much harder for an individual. This new group hopes to change perceptions, encouraging people in power to make change based on what’s best for those who struggle daily in life, at no fault of their own; this is something I personally believe in and hope we can make some positive changes in how our society perceive people with disabilities”.

Enable Ability have found a new home for their monthly meetings, moving to Spark Community Space from next month and for the foreseeable future. We hope others will join the co-production meetings and we can make even more of an impact with greater numbers, being enticed by free pizza, crisps and drinks! As well as an opportunity of being invited to our fortnightly socials where we’re planning pub visits, bingo nights and launch evenings.

All venues visited will be reviewed by the people with disabilities themselves; a full accessibility report will be written on what could be improved, as well as a free ‘What’s It Like’ interactive video which each venue get full access to in an effort to eliminate people’s perceptions of the venue, showing people a full tour of the interior which the venue can share how they choose, either on their website or using their social media channels.

To find out more information, we encourage anyone interested to contact James directly. He can be reached by dropping him a text on 07857 328390 or by emailing him on portsmouthtp@enableability.co.uk