Right to Dream 5 Year Strategy | 2021 - 2026
To support the development of this strategy a deafblind leadership programme was developed through funding provided by the National Lottery Community Fund Leaders with Lived Experience Programme. This enabled us to bring together a group of 9 deafblind people who undertook leadership training and worked collectively to create a draft Manifesto of Rights. This group of deafblind ‘ambassadors’ developed a consultation process to engage the wider deafblind community and because of this, consensus was reached on a Rights-based Manifesto for deafblind people. This set of rights has framed the thinking in this strategy as: the individual services; health, wellbeing and skills development programmes; training programmes; and campaigns set out in this strategy are all aimed at supporting the realisation of these rights over the next 5 years – and beyond.
Following this work on the development of the Dare to Dream Strategy this established group of ambassadors has now begun to look outward as part of the Right to Dream Programme which is a Scottish Government funded Equality and Human Rights Programme. This work will involve improving people with a sensory loss’s understanding of their human rights, supporting public services to uphold people’s rights, and enabling deafblind people to undertake a leadership role in the promotion of human rights. All this external work is aimed at ensuring that deafblind people have a voice that is heard and that they are unmistakeably visible in future developments that will impact their lives.
Our Vision
We are Scotland’s national charity and principal authority on meeting the complex needs of individuals living with deafblindness.
“Our vision is a society in which deafblind people have the support and recognition necessary to have their human rights upheld enabling them to achieve equal citizenship.”
We provide advice, support and opportunities that help enable deafblind people to take up their rightful place in their own communities and works to ensure their voices are heard across society.
To achieve this we:
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provide direct services including Guide Communication, self-management support and rehabilitation interventions.
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liaise with Government and Public Services to advocate for appropriate support to be made available for deafblind people in Scotland.
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raise awareness within the public of the needs and contributions that Deafblind people can and do make.
As an organisation, we are committed to achieving our vision - and are working hard to make this a reality. One thing is clear - our work is not yet done.