United Response
United Response is a top 50 charity operating in England and Wales, providing a range of support and services for more than 1,500 people with learning disabilities, mental health needs or physical disabilities. It employs over 2,500 people across the organisation and has won many awards for its pioneering work since being founded in 1973.[1]
Mission and vision
Their mission is to enable people with learning disabilities, mental health needs and physical disabilities to take control of their lives.[2]
Their vision is a society where disabled people are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
Services
The services provided depend on each person they work with. United Response can provide 24-hour support for people with profound physical needs, or just a few hours for those who need less support to live their lives. They can job coach someone into meaningful paid employment and can provide outreach support for someone with a mental health need or help people who find it difficult to communicate by making information more accessible. The key to their success is that they work with each person to do the things they want to do, supporting them to communicate what they want.[3]
Campaigns
In support of United Response's vision, they also campaign to improve the lives of people with disabilities in society. This may mean lobbying decision makers such as MPs to ensure that people's voices are heard or it might mean working directly with disabled people so that they can be more directly engaged in the democratic process. United Response also work with employers to ensure that more people with learning disabilities, mental health needs and physical disabilities get a fair opportunity to work.[4]
Its major current campaign is Every Vote Counts (), which aims to make politics and voting accessible to people with learning disabilities. Currently, at least half a million people with learning disabilities in the UK have the right to vote but don't use it, due to low awareness of their rights and the complexity of the political system. The charity is working with people with learning disabilities and politicians to change this, so that more people vote in the 2010 election and beyond.
Awards
In 2008 alone, United Response were shortlisted as best employer in the Third Sector Excellence Awards[5] and highly commended for their Annual Report. They also won a highly prestigious National Training Award[6] for the investment they make in their staff.
2009 saw the charity shortlisted in the best use of the internet category in the Charity Times Awards, while it's Making Money Easier project (aimed at making the financial world more accessible to people with learning disabilities) was shortlisted in the Radar Awards.
Martyn Lewis, CBE
Martyn Lewis, CBE is president of United Response and was awarded a CBE in 1997 for his services to young people and the hospice movement.