Press Release
19th August 2008
People with learning disabilities help to celebrate Liverpool as 2008 European City of Culture
A group of people with learning disabilities supported by United Response's Oakfield Day Service have put on their dancing shoes to help celebrate Liverpool as the 2008 European City of Culture.
United Response was one of ten community organisations asked to take part in the dance event, which was organised by Liverpool's Empire Theatre.
The build up to the event was intense with eight people supported by United Response attending five workshops with the theatre company throughout June, before starring in the final performance last month.
Anthony Kennedy who took part said: “I enjoyed the acting & dancing it made me feel good and made my family proud.”
Eileen Molloy also took part. She said: “I liked the sound effects, the music and lighting, it was exciting to dance too, it gave me so much confidence to go out in front of an audience”.
Two members of United Response staff also starred in the event. Senior Support Worker, Diane O'Leary, said: “We all grew in confidence as the performance went on and the group worked hard for each other, supported each other, and wanted to do it all again!”
Service Manager, Veronica Astor, heads up United Response's work at the Oakfield Day Service. She said: "We were really pleased to be asked to take part in the dance event. It was a lot of fun and it was great to be able to play our part in the city's celebrations.
"It was also a great opportunity for people to show off their talent. Over the years we have built up strong links with several local groups, making it possible for the people we support to take part in a number of arts projects from creating their own animations to making films about local history. Last year was the tenth anniversary of the Oakfield Service and with the help of the WEA some of the people supported by United Response made a stunning mosaic to celebrate the event.
"These projects and the dance event show just what can be achieved when the community works together to create opportunities for people with learning disabilities."
United Response works with people with learning disabilities throughout the Liverpool area. Working in partnership with other organisations, we provide people with everything from 24 hour care to supporting them to find work and play an active role in the community. To find out more about the organisation, and the work they do locally, contact Alexandra Badwi or Mike Crawford on (0151) 4873605.
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For more information please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237/ 020 8246 5122 or emailsarah.bartlett@unitedresponse.org.uk or jaime.gill@unitedresponse.org.uk
Note to editors:
United Response is a national charity that works with people with learning disabilities or mental health needs – including some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
We provide everything from 24 hour care to a few hours of support a week. United Response is community based, working in many localities across England and Wales.
Our mission is to support people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to take control of their lives. We design our care and support around each person and work with them to achieve real inclusion, independence and citizenship for all. We support people across the whole spectrum of learning disability and mental health and have developed a range of specialisms in working with people with the most complex needs, particularly person-centred active support.
We are working towards a society where people with learning disabilities or mental health needs are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
We have won several awards for our pioneering work and for being a top employer. In 2007 alone, we were highly commended by the Charity Awards for our “Good To Great” approach to providing support, while the Charity Times named us one of the best six charities to work for in the UK. We are experts in the development of accessible communications.
United Response was founded in 1973 by chief executive Su Sayer. We are a top 100 charity, supporting more than 1,500 people throughout the UK at any one time and employing more than 2,000 staff.