End of Belonging

Hey readers, Kerry and Emily here, hoping you’re all well. This week I, Kerry, want to write about something that’s just finished and I feel proud of. For the last couple of years, I’ve been part of a research project with Lancaster University. I have talked about it here a bit before, but now it’s come to an end.

The research was about belonging. It asked how people with a learning disability feel about belonging, especially people who may face extra challenges, like women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, or transgender people. We wanted to understand whether some people find it harder to feel they belong, and why.

It has been an interesting experience. We learned a lot. Some of the findings were things we might already have guessed, like the fact that people who are seen as “different” in more than one way, often struggle more to belong. However, it really matters to have research that listens to people and tells us if this is actually happening, not just something we assume.

I enjoy being part of these research projects, which are important. It’s all part of the work People First Dorset do, behind the scenes, and which helps shape what we do here in Dorset. We’ll be sharing more about the research, and other work, on our website, later this month.

I also really enjoyed meeting other people from around the country on this project, learning together, and sharing experiences. It reminded me how powerful it is when people with a learning disability are involved in research, not just talked about.

In the meantime, we hope you’ve all had a good weekend. And is it just me, or is it starting to feel a tiny bit warmer and a little bit drier?

The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff