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Welcome

Welcome to the main website of Shaping Our Lives.

Shaping Our Lives National User Network is an independent user-controlled organisation, think tank and network. We started as a research and development project but became an independent organisation in 2002. We now work with a wide and diverse range of service users. Click here to find out more about Shaping Our Lives.

On this website you can find out about publications on user involvement, some produced by Shaping Our Lives and some by other organisations. You can have a look at our most recent newsletter (published April 2010) by downloading it here.

The new government's hardliner welfare team strikes fear in mental health service users and disabled people

Click here to read more on the Guardian blog by Peter Beresford

Date added: 3/6/2010

Now is the time to act for disability in the next EU strategy
Europe is going through an important stage with the policies for the next 10 years at stake. The Lisbon Treaty has now come to an end and the Council of Ministers are drawing up the EU 2020 strategy, which will be the Treaty for the next 10 years.

Click here to find out more

UN Convention on disabilities

Click here to have your say in a four minute web questionnaire on UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities hosted by European Network on Independent Living 

Date added: 3/6/2010

The petition "calls upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Assembly Government to introduce a National Strategy on Independent Living that recognises the equal right of all disabled people to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and to ensure that this is facilitated through effective and appropriate measures." The petition closes on the 17th December 2010.

Add your signature to the petition

Date added:13/5/2010

Lofty principles are a start

The principles of the social care white paper are Beveridgean in scale, writes Peter Beresford

The social care white paper Building The National Care Service is a document of lofty principles in significant contrast to the narrow and unsatisfactory green paper that preceded it. But now the devil truly lies in the detail. We won't know how it pans out until the general election after next, since the start date for the new National Care Service is set for 2015. What's really significant about this document is the heavily revised process for change it offers, which now runs to setting up a commission in its second stage.

Click here to read more

Date added: 1/4/2010

Funding social care: what service users say

Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Viewpoint

by Peter Beresford, Brunel University and Shaping Our Lives (March 2010)


Service users have not been adequately involved in discussions about he future funding of social care, yet they are the people most affected by these decisions. This Viewpoint reports the views of a diverse range of adult social care service users brought together to explore current proposals for funding social care.

Click here to go to the 'Funding social care:what service users say' page

Date added:11/03/2010

New Report written by Fran Branfield, Shaping Our Lives

In 2003 – 2004 the training for people who wanted to become social workers changed. For the first time people who use health and social care services were to be involved. For a long time service users have been saying ‘Nothing about us without us’ and now these important changes made it a requirement that service users should be involved in the education and training of social workers.

To view the full report in PDF click here

To view the full report in Word click here

Date added:17/12/2009

SOLNET - have a look at the networking website of Shaping Our Lives at www.solnetwork.org.uk

Website feedback

We are always keen to hear feedback about this website. If you have any comments please email jenny@shapingourlives.org.uk.

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