Empowered Citizens, stronger communities and sustainable lives

My agency Community Lives Consortium is part of of the All Wales Community Living Network.

The All Wales Community Living Network (AWCLN) represents Welsh third sector provider agencies that support adults who have learning disabilities to live in the Community.

We are very concerned with the development of an approach to personalisation of services which has broad support and will work effectively in the Welsh context. As part of this the group has been discussing the possible links between personalisation and the development of mutually supportive communities.

As part of this discussion I was asked to write a thought paper on the subject, this paper has been heavily influenced by the discussions and ideas expressed through the Sustainable Lives process.

This week the paper was shared in draft form with the steering group of In Control Cymru.

You can download a copy of this paper which is draft and the subject of continuing dialogue within the network.

• Empowered Citizens, stronger communities and sustainable lives

The draft paper argues that we must continue to build a model of self directed services in Wales which represents a step change in the person centeredness of our services, however for this to be successful given the financial, social and environmental pressures that these services will face over the coming decades it must be built on a foundation of empowered sustainable communities.

Models of co-production and community development offer a potential to do this which has a good fit with both In Control and also Welsh traditions of bottom up mutual action, reciprocity and fair exchange. Such a development would empower the people we serve and help them and the systems that support them to become central in the development of their communities and neighbourhoods in the decades to come.

The AWCLN would welcome feedback and our views on this discussion, which can be posted here and I will pass them on.

Rick