Happy 70th birthday, Mencap!

Mencap celeberated its 70th birthday this year

Mencap is a charity based in the United Kingdom. They are one of Inclusion Europe’s members. They support people with an intellectual disability. Mencap celebrated its 70th birthday this year. They decided to thank the person who helped found the charity. Her name was Judy. Judy had a daughter called Felicity who had an intellectual disability. Felicity was treated very badly at school. This made Judy angry. So she wrote a letter to a big magazine. Many parents with children with an intellectual disability responded. They decided that they must help people with an intellectual disability. This is how Mencap was founded. Because it is their birthday, Mencap started a big campaign on Twitter. They asked other people to say thank you to Judy. Many people responded. They shared stories on how Mencap has helped them and their families. Mencap also launched a new community called FamilyHub. This community connects parents, family members and carers of people with an intellectual disability. Mencap also released the results of a survey. In this survey, many parents of children with intellectual disabilities had said that they do not feel welcome when they are out in public with their child. There is still a long way to go until people with an intellectual disability will be fully included in society. Mencap will continue to stand up for this goal. Happy birthday from Inclusion Europe to Mencap!

Incusion Europe’s member Mencap this year celebrated 70 years of supporting and campaigning for people with a learning disability in the UK. In the 70 years since Mencap began, the charity has been instrumental in helping to improve the way that people with a learning disability live their lives, and they wanted to say a huge thank you to the woman that played a key role in starting the Mencap movement.
In 1946, Judy Fryd, mother to Felicity who had a learning disability, wrote a letter to Nursery World magazine highlighting how badly her daughter had been treated at school. Judy’s letter was a call to arms to other parents to which over 1000 responded, kick-starting the Mencap movement.
To celebrate the launch of our birthday activity, Mencap encouraged people on social media to say their very own #ThanksJudy for 70 years of positive change for people with a learning disability and share stories of how Mencap has helped them and their families.
Mencap’s new online community, FamilyHub, was also launched to provide peer-to-peer support for parents, family members and carers of people with a learning disability. The community is providing a range of support, guidance and shared experiences to parents from other parents and family members and so far, has over 190 users.
The charity also released the results of a survey it ran earlier this year, which found that many parents of children with a learning disability feel isolated from society. 70% said they had felt unwelcome when out in public with their child, and 21% said that they’d been told to leave a public place because of their child’s behaviour. The research picked up interest from the UK’s national media with pieces both in The Guardian and on Sky News.
Public attitudes may be improving, but the fact is that still, families and people with a learning disability feel like they live in a society that excludes them. This shows us there is a lot more work to be done. Mencap is committed to continuing its work to make sure people with a learning disability in the UK can live life in the way that they want.
A big Happy Birthday from Inclusion Europe and best of luck for a successful 2017!