Love your Life for who you are – Love Lifeworks for what they do

Hi my name is Olivia and before I start I want to thank you for taking time to read my blog. I have chosen to do my advocacy on a charity called Lifeworks because when I was born I was premature by 2 months and I could have been left with a disability. And I feel very strongly about helping others! Not many people seem to know about Lifeworks and what they do, and many don’t know the suffering the parents are having when they don’t have a break. And this is where lifeworks steps in. The fact that there is no other respite care available in South Devon (unless it is in a hospital, which in most cases isn’t necessary) is a problem that needs addressing and fast.

Firstly I will explain the situation. As the population continues to grow each year – it means more children being born with a disability. Did you know that 1 in every 20 children has some form of disability which means more and more people need to seek help and respite care. This means there is a growing demand for respite and residential care. Currently there are 770,000 children with a disability and that number is growing each day.

It was set up by a group of teachers and parents who felt that action needed to be taken because they were appalled at the fact there was nowhere for children to relax or have fun, there aim was to set up and run a purpose built house where children with disabilities can relax in a safe and fun environment and have fun where they can socialise. Because they don’t have much of a socialise then they thought it would be great to try and influence it. Without the help many people would simply break down without a break from looking after a child with disabilities 24/7.

This is typical of the immense progress children can make with the help, support and encouragement of the wonderful work Lifeworks carries out.  The surfing days promote new skills, socialising and a great sense of free spirit giving children an extra sense of self belief and confidence when returning to the Lifeworks centre.

Well you may be sat there thinking why you should care and help; here are reasons why you should:

• Over 1 in 20 people are disabled so  a large chunk of England are disabled and it could be a family member or a friend
• Nobody gets to choose if they are disabled or not as most people are born with it so it could have been you.
• It could affect anyone
• We live in a world where there is a lot of disabled people around us and we should be very grateful for what we have.

Thank you so much again for reading my blog. Please can you post some feedback. Details can be found at http://www.lifeworks-uk.org/

1. Had you heard of Lifeworks before?
2. Has this blog made you more informed about Lifeworks and what they do?
3. Are you willing to donate to Lifeworks?
4. Please tell your family and friends about Lifeworks and try to persuade them ?

Thanks
Olivia