Choice in Hackney is an organisation run by disabled people, for disabled people.
Hackney is the second most deprived borough in the UK. This often reflects on the situation of people with disabilities who may find it difficult to access support from their local community. The Volunteer Project emerged in response to a growing need for practical and emotional support which paid professionals cannot
provide.
We focus on three areas of work:
Befriending: for people who do not leave their home regularly, having a chat with someone for a couple of hours a week makes a real difference. It gives them something to look forward to and helps build connections with the community.
Practical support: often people we work with have a clear idea what they want to achieve in their lives but need support with overcoming barriers. This may be taking public transport, using a computer or coming home after dark.
Health and wellbeing support: taking part in social activities, such as a walk in the park, socialising, or supervised help with exercising can make a real difference to someone’s quality of life.
We work within a social model of disability. This means that we focus on the person and their needs and not on their impairment. Because of that the support we provide is very flexible.
We also involve disabled and non-disabled volunteers in the CHOICE office where they work alongside paid staff and learn new skills. We always have at least 4-5 volunteers (at any given time).
Case study: Geoff and Elena
Geoff contacted CHOICE to get support with exercising. He had been recommended to practice walking but it has been difficult to go on his own. He was matched with Elena, who used to work as a teacher in Bulgaria and wanted to gain more experience to get a job where she could make a positive contribution to the community.
Elena says: “I’ve learnt to understand people with impairments better, to find a balance between help and support. It’s mainly about trying to support Geoff’s efforts to manage things by himself and not to do things instead of him.”
Geoff reports that he can walk three times as far after the 6 months of participating in the project. He is also going to become a volunteer himself visiting patients in a local hospital. Elena has recently been offered a job as a Community Support Worker working with older people.
