This document discusses different levels of involvement for people who use services, including individual, organizational, and strategic levels. It emphasizes recognizing the real contributions that can come from genuinely involving people who use services and recognizing their unique individual differences. The benefits of involvement include making services more considered, person-centered, responsive, and effective, as well as benefits to the individuals involved such as recovery, redress, development, and sometimes therapy. It warns against tokenism and avoiding democracy and accountability. The document then provides information about People First (Scotland), a national independent self-advocacy organization for people with learning difficulties, including their history, governance structure, local and national work, conferences, and importance in creating change at the individual, soci

1. Involving people who use services Rocket science?

2. What layers of involvement? Individual – people being involved in decisions which affect their own lives Organisational – people who use services having an influence over the service they use Strategic – influencing legislation, policy and service design and development across services, at the highest levels

3. People who use services… Require those services for a reason Are more than their need for a service Are not simply defined by their needs But usually continue to have those needs while participating

4. men women gay straight young people older people sisters brothers mothers fathers husbands wives neighbours carers unwell well impaired lonely speaking signing walking wheeling happy seeing guided supported

5. Working holistically Recognising the real and valuable contribution that can come from genuinely involving the people who use services Recognising and valuing and working with the differences of all of the unique individuals who are involved

6. What’s the point? Benefit to the system and service users generally by becoming more considered, more person-centred, more responsive and more effective Benefit to the people who are involved – as part of recovery, redress, development and sometimes (gulp) therapy

7. Tokenism and traps Pick people who “fit in” Don’t tell them who holds the power Ignore their organisations and facilitate tame and “domestic” users Avoid democracy and accountability Timing Duration Location

9. People First (Scotland) The national independent self-advocacy organisation of people with learning difficulties in Scotland.

10. People First (Scotland) Became a company in 1989 Over 80 People First groups from the Borders up to the islands. About 950 members

11. How we run People First Run by us, the members Board of Directors Staffing Committee Chair’s Committee Elections

12. Local Groups What local groups do Women’s groups Area-wide groups Sit on local planning bodies and strategic groups

13. National Work We represent People First (Scotland) on: SAYIG and working groups Multi-agency Inspection Steering Group QIS Care Commission User and Carer group Cross-party Learning Disability group Scottish Parenting Network User and Carer Panel of 21 st Century Social Work Review SIAA Board Mental Health Act Implementation group

14. National work Conferences Consultations Training

15. International work Conferences: Canada Alaska London Visits: Wisconsin Ireland Germany

16. People First Europe conference, Edinburgh 2005 International work

17. Why People First is important Change on 3 levels: Individuals The way we are treated and seen by others Laws and policies