Rachel Healy, Marketing and Communications Manager at Share Community reflects how lockdown has highlighted the challenges faced by those with learning disabilities.

Many of us are resuming usual daily activities as restrictions gradually lift, a welcome relief from the constraints of the past few months. The loss of freedom we suffered made many people feel vulnerable. Yet social isolation and lack of freedom are experiences faced regularly by disabled people, who often depend on others to help them take part in all sorts of everyday tasks.

Lockdown made life particularly difficult for those with learning disabilities and autism as local support organisations were forced to offer reduced services. This put additional stress on many families and carers who struggled to cope as they watched their loved ones suffer increased anxiety and poor mental health as a result.

This is why we’re working so hard to resume face-to-face support for adults with learning disabilities and to continue to offer support to those at home. At Share we’re committed to helping people reclaim some choice over what they do and take part in meaningful and enjoyable activities. Our focus right now is to boost mental health and help our students get connected digitally, something that has proved vital during lockdown to provide contact with family and friends.
 

We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have our garden in Tooting and for some time we’ve been offering mental health respite, running art and independent living classes outdoors. We’ll soon be resuming full horticultural training for our students and we’ll continue to use the garden for a range of wellbeing activities.

We’re also reopening our main site in Clapham Junction and we’ve recently launched a befriending service.

You can help us by donating, getting in touch about volunteering opportunities (email leannew@sharecommunity.org.uk) or coming to our garden to buy plants from our social enterprise Share Nurseries in Tooting – we’re now open to the public weekdays from 10am until 3pm. Summer may be coming to an end but we’ve still got some lovely plants available to brighten up your home.

Share Community is a registered charity that provides training and employment support for disabled adults, including those with learning disabilities, autism, physical/sensory impairments and mental health needs. To find out more about Share’s work or how you can get involved, visit our website at www.sharecommunity.org.uk or why not follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.