Choice Support has recently been awarded Heritage Lottery Funding for an oral history project working across Kent. The project explores how experiences of love, relationships, and personal autonomy for people with learning disabilities have changed over time, particularly the shift from institutional care to more independent living within local communities.
In Kent, this includes the history of large institutions such as Leybourne Grange and Darenth Park, alongside the move towards supported living, increased choice, and greater control over people’s lives and relationships. While much of the project centres on the voices of people with learning disabilities themselves, we are also keen to capture the perspectives of professionals who have supported people through these changes.
It is recognised that many professionals have first-hand experience of how policy, practice, attitudes, and opportunities around relationships have evolved. These experiences form an important part of Kent’s social care history and are rarely documented.
Choice Support is therefore inviting professionals past and present to reflect on their experiences of:
-
Supporting people with learning disabilities around relationships and intimacy
-
How approaches to rights, choice, and safeguarding have changed over time
-
The impact of moving away from institutional care towards community-based support
-
The successes, challenges, and learning that have shaped current practice
These reflections will sit alongside personal stories from people with learning disabilities and will contribute to a play and exhibition, helping to present a fuller picture of change over time and ensuring both lived experience and professional perspectives are recognised.
For further information and to take part, contact Dr Claire Bates, Supported Loving Leader at Choice Support
Supportedloving.org.uk
