The Percy Hedley Foundation Speaks Out

David’s Recipe for Fulfillment and Happiness

Supported living ‘in the community’ seems to be the current dogma. Why, then, does the Percy Hedley Foundation have a long waiting list for its residential care facilities? Perhaps David’s story tells why.

David is 36 years old and lives an independent, purposeful, and exciting life despite his severe cerebral palsy. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Percy Hedley Foundation, the charity that runs the residential accommodation he lives in, and which provided the special school he attended as a child. David is also a member of ‘Open Doors’, a charity which acts as a gateway to services for disabled people. He says, “I enjoy these positions of responsibility and like helping others”.

David, whose mobility and speech are severely affected by cerebral palsy, has his own bungalow within the residential complex situated in Forest Hall, a village suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne. He picks and chooses from a wide range of activities provided by the Foundation and out in the community. Easy access to the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne enables David to be part of the vibrant city community life, living in Forest Hall means he is part of his local community and residing alongside other people with cerebral palsy gives him access to a community of shared experiences.

Powerchair Football photgraph David (left) and one of his many friends
and fellow powerchair soccer players

David was not very academic at school and Further Education College, though he did enjoy maths, art, and information technology. His great passion was sport, and he says that if he had not been in specialist educational settings he would have been denied active participation in sports. One of his proudest memories is taking part in the 1984 Special Olympics in New York, where he won a bronze medal in one of the throwing events. The good news is that, because of the Percy Hedley Foundation’s recent development of powerchair sports, David’s sporting days are not over. He is now a regular member of the powerchair soccer team with an ambition to play for the first ever England team.

David lives a hectic social life and says, “I couldn’t be happier. I have a fulfilling, purposeful, and exciting life”. When he learned about reports that Scope, the national charity for people with cerebral palsy, was closing some of its residential accommodation in favour of ‘community living’ he was dismayed. He said, “I totally disagree with them, they can’t be listening to people like me”.

David is not the exception at the Percy Hedley Foundation. He is one of 50 residents who fully enjoy being part of many communities. The Foundation’s purpose is to promote the rights, needs, and aspirations of disabled people. It does not take a simplistic ideological stance but truly listens to what people want and need. It champions true choice and considers inclusion to mean full participation in all areas of life.

It is important that central government, local government, and voluntary bodies listen to all disabled people and not just the best positioned, the narrowly focussed, and the most vociferous.

© Jim Ferris

This article first appeared in The Parliamentary Monitor, Issue 127 (May 2005)
Email: editorial.housemag@parlicom.com

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