The Camden Society (London) recently held a Being Heard event to give the people they support a voice to talk about things that matter to them, like how their support is going.
The Camden Society (London) run these events every 3 months as a way of keeping in regular contact with people they support. This event was held at The Greenwood Centre in Kentish Town on Thursday 6 October.
Kiran Kaur, Service Quality Director for The Camden Society (London), said:
I feel these events are really important because they give the people we support a voice; they are given a chance to talk about what they think is going well and what is not going so well, and this in turn gives us the chance to ensure that the support they use is the best it can be.
October’s event had a focus on what people want from their support workers. It was decided that support workers needed to be patient, understanding, and very fond of cats!
The Camden Society (London) will use this feedback as part of ensuring people are involved in the recruitment process for new staff.
Kiran explained how the Being Heard events have changed the events based on people’s feedback:
This was a good event that was well attended, we have tried different formats and themes but the people we support said they wanted a more formal meeting with an agenda and, as you can see they played a massive part in the meeting, sharing ideas, suggestions and having a bit of a laugh too. It is important to have time to speak with the people we are supporting, otherwise how are we going to know what they truly want their support to look like?
The event was also an opportunity for people to socialise and catch up with one another. They shared good news stories of things that had happened to them since the last Being Heard event, and spoke passionately about Eastenders, politics, and films.
Overall, the event was a big success and put the people we support at the front of the decision-making process and in control of their own support. It is also an opportunity for socialising in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. We’ll see you at the next one.