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December 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to the WECIL newsletter. Stay subscribed for news from the community, events for your diary, general announcements and more…
Greetings from Dominic Ellison
This year’s Access All Areas event at the Trinity Centre in Bristol was a huge success and it was fantastic to see so many people from our community in the same place at at the same time. It was also great to have Gary Bourlet attend the event and speak about his work for the self-advocacy movement.
2023 has been a challenging year for a lot of people for different reasons, but I‘m pleased to say that WECIL has maintained our voice and influence activity at a national level, and I remain thankful for the hard work and commitment of our team, our passionate volunteers and the Board of Trustees. Their continued hard work has enabled us to support Disabled people to achieve the independence, choice and control they deserve.
I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season, see you in the New Year! Dominic
For more on WECIL’s 2023 Annual report read here.
General announcements
WECIL Wins Locality Award! We are delighted to share the fantastic news that WECIL has won Locality’s Power of Community Award. The annual Locality Awards ‘23 Ceremony took place at the Bristol Marriot Royal Hotel on 7th November, celebrating the impact and innovation shown by local community organisations and charities across the country. Read more here…
People’s Voice and WECIL – WECIL are delighted to announce we will now be working with People’s Voice to set up a new organisation run by and for people with a learning difficulty or disability. The People’s Voice project group has already spent a year working with Bristol City Council to carry out research into what people with a learning difference want and need. We are very happy to welcome Beth and Edwin to our team who will be leading this project so watch this space!
The WECIL Payroll service is changing our timesheets from next year. Your new timesheets can be found under the “Payroll Resources Section” of the WECIL website through the following link: wecil.org.uk/about-wecil/resources
Payroll timesheet deadlines have also been published for the new year, for more information visit: wecil.org.uk/direct-payment-payroll/payroll
Are any of your Personal Assistants looking for extra work? Do you know anyone that would be interested in being a Personal Assistant to a Disabled person? Have a look at our PA Jobs page: wecil.org.uk/pa-jobs
WECIL Community Gathering
Come along to our next event at the Vassall Centre (Gill Ave, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ) from 10am on January the 30th 2024 to meet the WECL team, meet other Direct Payment users and have your say about the future of Direct Payments in Bristol. Click here to reserve tickets and your place.
We also need your help on what you think makes good Direct Payment Support. Complete our survey to help us design support that matters to you. To take part in the survey click here.
Join the Know Your Rights Community!
We are pleased to launch our new online forum designed by our Know Your Rights team. The forum is a safe online space for people with a learning difficulty or disability to have conversations about things that are important to them.
You can request access to the forum by visiting: kyrcommunity.org.uk
The Importance of Authentic Representation of Disability in the Media
We all often turn to TV, books, films and the media for entertainment, inspiration, learning and as a point of reference. But what if you then found you weren’t able to relate to these characters, and that Disabled people weren’t represented accurately or authentically? To read the full article click here.
Our Business Services are now Disability.Inc.
You may already know this, but in 2022 WECIL’s business services team was rebranded as Disability.Inc. They’ve been working across the region to help businesses, venues and public sector organisations to become more accessible. To find out more about what they’re doing visit: disabilityinc.org.uk
“Morning Jeni (an ILP Advisor at WECIL), I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work, time and energy you have put into looking after our Direct Payment. You’re an absolute breath of fresh air and all your efforts are very much appreciated. Wishing you a great day and fabulous weekend.”
