What We Do

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This page tells you about some of the things we do.

Local Groups – Members come together in local groups to offer advice, share news and speak up for ourselves. We want to make sure that we have equal rights.

National Groups – We have national groups that campaign about the issues that affect people with learning disabilities. We have a Parents’ Group, a Law and Human Rights Group and the Supporting Offenders with a Learning Disability Group.

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We want real change in three main areas:

1. The way people with learning disabilities see themselves

2. The way the world sees and thinks about people with learning disabilities

3. The law and policy as it affects people with learning disabilities

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Local Groups

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Local groups are the backbone of People First.

Members come together in their local area to support each other, gain skills and confidence and campaign on issues that affect them. We have local People First groups that meet throughout Scotland.

Local groups are supported by a People First development worker or volunteer advisor. You can find out who your Local Development Worker is by looking at the Contact Us Page.

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In our groups we:

Speak up for ourselves.

  • Talk about things that are important to us.
  • Have a say in consultations.
  • Support each other.
  • Campaign for better lives for people with learning disabilities.

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         We have groups across Scotland that meet in:

 Edinburgh

 Fife

Glasgow 

Clackmannanshire

Midlothian

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National Work

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Our national work is varied and wide ranging. It can involve, responding to consultations, providing training to professionals, giving presentations and providing input to relevant research.

Our senior members represent the views of the organisation at many national committees, panels and strategic groups. These views are developed over time and the discussions begin within our local groups where members come together to share their experiences. 

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We sit on many national committees, panels and strategic groups. There are too many to list here but we currently sit on the Accessible Travel Framework Steering Group and the Scottish Learning Disability Observatory Committee. 

We regularly attend round table events hosted by Scottish Government and we have also sat on the Cross-Party Group on Learning Disability for many years.

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Parents’ Group

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The Parents Group is for parents with learning disabilities, some parents have their children living with them and some do not.

We meet once a month online on a Tuesday 11am-1pm.

Members of The Parents’ Group raise awareness of the barriers parents with learning disabilities face in their everyday lives. Our lived experience means we are the experts.

The Parents’ Group gives parents with learning disabilities a place to come if they’ve got any worries or concerns. You can get advice and support from others who have similar experiences.

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We want:

  • To continue to raise awareness of barriers we face through increased training and policy change.
  • all letters and information concerning our children to be in easy read language.

As part of our work:

  • We provide training
  • We consult on and influence policy and law
  • Some Individual Advocacy is also provided to parents

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The Law and Human Rights Group

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The Law and Human Rights group is made up of members that want to see changes in how the law in Scotland treats people with learning disabilities.

We want people with learning disabilities to have the same rights as every other citizen in Scotland.

The Law and Human Rights group meets once a month but sometimes we need to have special extra meetings for example when we meet with professionals.

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Our campaigns so far have focused on the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.

To bring about the change we want we meet with a lot of different people, deliver presentations and take part in consultations.

We produce easy-read information about our work for our members and others who are interested in supporting us.

We have produced a Framework for supported decision-making and a shorter summary. We have also written the ‘Case for a new Law’ for people with learning disabilities. You can read these on the ‘Information‘ page of the website. 

If you would like to know more about the group you can contact the People First (Scotland) Office.

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Supporting Offenders with Learning Disabilities

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People First, along with our partners ARC Scotland, work together to deliver the SOLD project. SOLD stands for Supporting Offenders with Learning Disabilities.

The SOLD User group is a group of people who all have a learning disability and experience of the criminal justice system.

The group meets once a month at the People First office in Edinburgh.

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We work together to plan and deliver training for professionals like the police, lawyers and judges.

We develop easy read documents and help with reports.

We take part in conferences and consultations.

We campaign to get the right support to ensure that people are treated fairly and equally in the justice system.

SOLD work to improve the justice system for people with learning disabilities, autism and other communication difficulties.

You can find more information about the SOLD project at www.soldnetwork.org.uk

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