Today is the start of Learning Disability Week 2024.

This year the theme for the week is ‘Do You See Me?’

The event, organised by the charity Mencap, is all about challenging the barriers people with a learning disability face. We want to celebrate the things that people with a learning disability bring to society.

According to Mencap, a learning disability is a person’s reduced intellectual ability, meaning they can face difficulty with everyday activities, such as household tasks, reading, socialising, working at a job or at school, and communicating – which affects someone for their whole life.

People with a learning disability can sometimes need extra support to learn new skills, understand complicated information or interact with other people.

A learning disability doesn’t mean people can’t live happy, fulfilling or successful lives.

For the last 25 years Golden Lane Housing has been providing good quality homes for people with a learning disability and autistic people and are landlord to around 2,300 people.

We’ve been talking to tenants, support workers and parents as well as GLH colleagues about their experiences of what good quality supported housing can do in helping people with a learning disability live happy, fulfilling or successful lives.

We’re looking forward to sharing their stories across this week.

Our first story is from Mark Johnson, Chair of Golden Lane Housing’s tenant group More Voices More Choices, you can watch his video here.