The National User Group is made up of 14 service users from all over the country. The management commitee comprises 7 members elected from the National User Group.
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| Sid Jeewa |
Peter Beresford is Chair of Shaping Our Lives and is a long time user of mental health services. Peter has been involved with Shaping Our Lives from the outset and has carried out research and written much about the best ways to involve service users in the services they receive. Peter is a professor of social work and director of the Centre for Citizen Participation at Brunel University.
Ann Nutt in my late twenties when my children were aged 3 and 5 I developed a serious long-term illness that was debilitating and I was no longer able to work. This was a life changing event and introduced me to the voluntary sector and social care. I have over the years held the following roles in my local community, I have sat on many committees and I am currently the: District Commissioner for Scouts Trustee of Rainbow Services, Vice-chair West Essex LINks, Independent member of the E&S LINks Countywide Coordinating Group, Vice-chair Essex Coalition of Disabled People
Maggie Brennan I’m good at advice, when people are feeling low they can come to me and I can talk to them. I am good at understanding people. I am a kind person, easy going. I’ve got loads of experience of meetings in different organizations. I am good at speaking up for other people. I listen to people. I understand other people. I’m good at listening. I can give a lot to the management committee, experience of meetings and things like that [and] research.
Patricia Chambers Patricia is a poet and is also one of 4 regional coordinators on the Shaping Our Lives project ‘Beyond the Usual Suspects: Developing Diversity in Involvement’. Patricia is joint treasurer of Shaping Our Lives and a member of the Management Committee.
Kay Malko I am a Disability Equality Trainer and Consultant and an off-site Practice Educator for social work students. I have been involved in the provision of Disability Equality Training for statutory and non-statutory organisations, as well as the design and implementation of a number of service user consultations. I am also a visitor for the GSCC social work course approval procedure. My work is informed by the Social Model of Disability, and by personal experience.
Munir Lalani is the founder and Chair of Achi-Zindagi, a support organisation run by and for Asian men. It is based in Manchester. Munir is one of 4 regional coordinators working on the Shaping Our Lives project ‘Beyond the Usual Suspects: Developing Diversity in Involvement’. Munir is vice Chair of Shaping Our Lives.
Michael Turner I have a long history with Shaping Our Lives. I was the worker on Shaping Our Lives’ first project on user defined outcomes which started in 1996 and went on to work on several other projects. I helped Shaping Our Lives develop from being a project to being an organisation/network and was a member of the national user group and management committee until 2008. I have also worked with a range of other user and disability organisations, along with a range of other organisations including universities, government departments, local authorities and charities. This has given me extensive experience of user involvement and management in a small organisation. I now work on user and stakeholder involvement at the Social Care Institute for Excellence
Graham Price chairs Sandwell Visually Impaired (SVI), a user led organisation. He likes to network, having developed close links with RADAR; his local deaf community; and those with learning difficulties. Graham sits on his council’s Disability Equality Project Board and he is a member of Birmingham University’s recruitment panel for new students for social studies.
June Sadd was until recently the network manager for Wiltshire and Swindon Users Network, an independent, service user controlled organisation that offers a range of support services to health and social care service users. June has been involved with Shaping Our Lives for many years and is an experienced workshop facilitator and equality trainer and consultant. June is a member of Shaping Our Lives Management Committee.
Anna Sartori is a member of Surrey Users Network, a user-controlled group which aims to improve the quality of life for all users of health and social care services. Anna has been involved in training and education of social care staff for many years and is a member of Shaping Our Lives’ Management Committee.
Patsy Staddon is a lesbian service user who survived alcohol and mental health treatment and is completing her PhD into women’s alcohol use and its treatment, from a sociological perspective. She started WIAS (Women’s Independent Alcohol Support) as a result of her research, and is an experienced presenter, writer and facilitator. She is a member of the INVOLVE Empowerment Group, and of various organisations committed to a social approach to mental health and alcohol use. She supports Animal Rights and likes cake and posh ice-cream.
Jennifer Taylor is a black woman with learning difficulties. She works for People First Lambeth in South London. She loves going to meetings and speaking up for people with learning difficulties who can’t speak up for themselves. She likes looking after people with learning difficulties as well. She is a member of the Partners’ Council at the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Sometimes she likes to socialise. She likes to chat to people about what is going on in their lives, what they are going through.
Sid Jeewa I am a freelance disability equality trainer and consultant working at both local and national level. My insight into the issues affecting disabled people in general, and Black disabled people in particular, are as a result of my own life experiences and professional involvement in disability issues since 1995. I am very much committed to ensuring that the views and opinions of disabled people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds become an integral and critical part of the overall service user voice.
