STEPHEN MCGECHAN, a commuinity member supported by our Larchfield Community, Middlesbrough, has been elected as co-chairman of Middlesbrough Learning Disability Open Partnership Board.
“I started going to meetings more than a year ago,” he says. “We talk about budgeting and transport and changing places. There’s a new scheme to make toilets accessible at Middlesbrough bus station. And there’s the bus buddies scheme. That’s to allow people with disabilities to sit down before the bus goes. There will be a card to show to the bus driver so he knows if someone has disabilities and can give them time to get in their seat before the bus moves.”
When there was to be an election for the post of co-chairman, Stephen put his name down. There were four people in the election and they visited day centres and places where people with learning disabilities live to say why they wanted the job. On polling day – 28th July – Stephen came top of the vote.
He has been elected for a two-year term which involves quite a lot of work. There’s a Partnership Board meeting every six weeks, meetings in between to discuss things, and Lead Officers meetings to attend too. He’s also involved in training days and making presentations.
“There are 40 to 50 people from different organisations who attend the Partnership Board meetings,” says Stephen. “There are people in social care, social services and support workers. I hope to get people from outside to come to meetings to see what we do at our Partnership Board and see that it is well run.”
One of the things that Stephen is passionate about is making sure that people know what is going on. “I want to make sure that people don’t use long words. People don’t understand what some big words mean.”
Stephen fits his new role around his busy life at Larchfield where he works in maintenance and the weavery. He also goes to college where he’s doing courses on English in IT and maths.
“I quite enjoy using my computer,” he says. “I like music and shopping and talking to friends on my mobile and holidays in France. I am enjoying life at the moment to the full. I’ve got a bit of independence and in a fortnight’s time I’m going on the coach on my own for the first time, to Manchester to visit my family.”