Future Forum Activities
Many of you will be aware that forum has been operating for quite some time. As with any project, it is appropriate to review the way it is working. This we have done and now have a leaner, meaner, slicker management system and so it seems a good time to appeal for new members.

A brief background - After moving into the Cornerstone building when the dust settled we decided to re-establish a forum, this would give people a chance to discuss the issues that affect their everyday lives. 

After the first open meeting we set up a working group to see how best this would operate. A couple of the main recommendations of the working group were that the forum needs open to every disability and that we needed to have meetings at different times. 

Over time the working group morphed into a steering group and after discussion with other directors of One Voice it seems inconsistent to have the steering group with a make up that had a lot of representatives from different organisations a lot of whom did not have disabilities. 

This steering group is made up of the two chairs of the forum, a co-ordinator and a volunteer who helps with admin, along with input from the information service that One Voice co-ordinator and a couple of other directors.

As result of meticulous research, our big focus will be on transport and issues related to it. This doesn’t mean we don’t want news on other issues it is more that we wanted a focus.  

I suppose the main reason for this update is that the forum can only achieve as much as its members can do and if we get more members we can take on more issues so I would urge anyone with an interest in improving the services for disabled people and with a bit of time and energy to come along to the forum.

The more members we have the more issues we can take up, so whether transport leaves stuck or you have other burning issues it would be lovely to see you at the next forum meeting at The Cornerstone.  

About One Voice and the Forum

The Forum aims to influence change in society by raising awareness of disability issues and providing guidance to service providers, statutory agencies and other voluntary and community groups in the Lancaster area. The Forum is a great opportunity to voice your views and listen to the thoughts and feelings of others regarding particular disability issues.

Agencies, professionals and other interested parties who are involved in local disability issues will be aware that One Voice is an amalgamation of three different groups: DISC, ACCESS and the Physical Disability Sensory Impairment Forum (PDSI).

The PDSI gave disabled people the chance to voice their views on the services they received.  With all the developments since 2003, the group was discontinued as a forum.  If you would like to be involved, please contact us.