Community Fund awarded to help tackle health inequalities

🎉We’re proud to share that we’ve received funding to launch a powerful new project in London tackling the severe health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities (LD), where the life expectancy gap remains heartbreakingly wide. You can read more about research in this area here.

An image of 3 diverse people in what looks like a community setting. One of the individuals is standing slightly behind the other two who are sat down at a desk. The one standing is talking to them and looks kind and caring. There is one man in a bright yellow coat who has a laptop in front of him. The woman sat next to him has an emerald green head scarf. They are all smiling.

This project will bring people together through community-based workshops, creative communication, and easy-read resources, all designed to build confidence and health awareness for people with learning disabilities.

We’ll also be training and equipping social care staff, families, and professionals with the tools they need to better support and advocate for those they care for.

Over 6 months, we’ll co-produce resources with the LD community and run monthly sessions on key health topics including:

Maternal health
Palliative care
Sexual and reproductive health
Heart and liver health
Healthy lifestyles and more

A woman in her 20s is sat down and looking towards a man whose back is to us and whose image is blurry. The woman is in a red t-shirt, has long brown hair and glasses. She looks supportive and kind and appears to be listening to the man and has a pen in her hand, as if taking notes.

Vitally, this work will be developed with the learning disability community. This builds on our successful work around cancer screening – but takes the conversation further, deeper, and more collaboratively than ever before.

By bridging communication gaps and supporting self-advocacy, we aim to drive lasting change in how people with learning disabilities experience healthcare.

🙏 A huge thank you to the National Lottery players and to the National Lottery Community Fund for making this possible. and to our partners and supporters, and to the community members who guide us every step of the way.