User-Led Organisations

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Southampton Centre for Independent Living
Promoting equality across the South

• User-Led Organisations
• Whats in it for users?
• 1984-2009 Celebrating 25 Years of Independent
  Living

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Building sustainable ULOs
However, the important aspect to creating and
sustaining sucessful ULOs are WHY users should
control their support organisations and HOW to
ensure these organisations are based on existing
CILs (i.e. working to the Social Model of
Disability, Peer-support and the principles of
Independent Living) Maybe a brief history
lesson will help
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History of CIL Movement
Origins in civil rights movements of the late
1960s, the Independent Living Movement grew out
of the Disability Rights Movement, which began in
the 1970s Independent Living is a philosophy, a
way of looking at disability and society, and has
developed into a worldwide movement of Disabled
People who work for self-determination,
self-respect and equal opportunities The first
Centre for Independent Living was founded by Ed
Roberts, in Berkeley, California in 1972. Created
to offer peer support are run and controlled by
Disabled People and work to the Social Model of
Disability
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History of CIL Movement
12 Basic Rights to Independent Living Full
ACCESS to our environment A fully accessible
TRANSPORT system TECHNICAL AIDS/EQUIPMENT
Accessible / adapted HOUSING PERSONAL
ASSISTANCE Inclusive EDUCATION and TRAINING
An adequate INCOME Equal opportunities for
EMPLOYMENT Appropriate and accessible
INFORMATION ADVOCACY (towards self advocacy)
COUNSELLING Appropriate and accessible HEALTH
CARE provision
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SCILs Range of Enabling Services
Supporting the empowerment of Disabled People
through Advice and Information on
Self-Directed Support Peer Advocacy Peer
Mentoring Personal Development
Participation Promoting Disability Equality
through Training Consultancy Consumer
Access Audits Practice Learning
Opportunities SCIL Campaigns for the rights of
Disabled People and represents their views.
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• ULOs Today
• Finding it hard to survive lack of Local
  Authority support and tendering rules
• Whilst we argue that we should have a right to a
  place at the table, the reality is that there are
  many happy to deny that right.

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• ULOs Principles (DoH Design Criteria)
• Run and Controlled by Disabled People or Carers
• Peer-support
• Independent Living Social Model of Disability
• Campaign for human rights
• Provide advice and support to enable Disabled
  People to live independently
• ULOs at the forefront of every important social
  policy advance in last 25 yrs
• But we must accept where the world has moved to
  and move with it,
• Find new ways to be relevant

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• Local Authorities cannot implement their
  Personalisation Agenda or their equality duties
  without effective ULOs?
• Keepers of Independent Living Social Model
  Faith
• ULOs have a critical role in enabling users to
  have an empowered voice noone else should speak
  FOR Disabled People
• ULOs Must be Campaigners (not just service
  providers)
• ULOs Must challenge policies (Local National)
  which limit the inclusion of Disabled People

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• But how can ULOs sustain themselves?
• Successful organisations are successful because
  they are different high quality and high
  principles WILL show through
• Must be more business like what we have is
  valuable and unique, sell it (social enterprises)
• Must be enabled to provide a range of services
  that generate income
• Must work to empower Disabled People to develop
  their skills within ULOs rather than expect them
  to just appear
• Become Critical Friends to Local Authorities
• Thinking Outside of the Box.

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Thank You!