This page gives further details about United Response, an organisation funded by the Partnership Grants Scheme.
Set up over 30 years ago, now working with around 1,500 people at any one time, United Response supports people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to live in the community, across England and in Wales.
- visit the United Response website at www.unitedresponse.org.uk
Every Vote Counts!
This project aimed to make politics directly relevant to people with learning disabilities, extend their understanding of how politics affects their everyday lives and support them to become actively involved in the democratic process. The project included the distribution of information packs on how to vote and democratic processes to people with severe learning difficulties. In addition the project offered relevant training for care workers, the establishment of a website and the distribution of information to a wide variety of other institutions on how to facilitate participation for people with severe learning difficulties.
The grant funded salaries, website production, information packs and beneficiaries’ travel.
Project outcomes
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increase the confidence of people with learning disabilities so they will take part in all aspects of political decision-making
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increase the number of people with learning disabilities who register to vote and the likelihood that they will vote
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increase the opportunities for people with learning disabilities to work with political decision-makers
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increase the number of care staff participating in the democratic process
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dissemination of their learning to other organisations working with people with learning disabilities in England
Outcomes achieved
The United Response Every Vote Counts! project achieved its outcomes through the production and dissemination of resources which were specifically designed for people with learning disabilities. 2,460 Every Vote Counts! Packs were disseminated to service users and carers. Due to the success of this resource, a new pack named Making Democracy Accessible was created for political stakeholders. Over the course of the third year, 2,442 MDA packs were disseminated to MPs, MEPs, Council Election Teams and Social Carers.
Case study
Sarah, aged 21, has learning disabilities. She lives with her parents in Greater Manchester. She travels independently and has a very active social life. Sarah’s feelings towards politics are mixed. Through her mum, Sarah had a very positive experience of engaging with her MP. Although Sarah has voted, it wasn’t an easy experience for her: 'I voted once, but I found it confusing. I decided who to vote for from the information my parents had, but when I got there it was a long list and there were so many people on it that I was confused.'
Sarah enjoyed using the Every Vote Counts! website. She said: 'I really like the fact that you can listen to the website as well as see it. It was really interesting and I liked hearing people's stories.' The website helped Sarah to think about the political issues which affect her life.
