Ways to be Heard
Together, our voices shape the support we need.
Better support starts by listening.
Many services are set up with good intentions, but too often we come away misunderstood, or without the support we were hoping for.
You are the expert in your own experience.
That’s what Ways to be Heard is for: helping you tell services what support you need, and helping services act on what you tell them.
Why this matters
Accessing support isn't always straightforward.
Knowing where to turn, finding the words to ask for what we need, feeling like our experience actually matters. When we're already struggling, those barriers can stop us from getting any support at all.
Reasonable adjustments checklist
A free, downloadable checklist to help you ask for the adjustments and support you need from services.
Fill it in, then save as a PDF to share by email or print to bring to appointments.
“The Cave” - Community Member
What we’re building
Two connected goals:
For You: Helping you tell services what support you need.
With Services: Helping services listen to what you tell them, so they can shape better support.
For You
Practical resources and guidance, to help you:
Find out what support is available.
Know your rights.
Learn the words and terms that can help you be heard.
Prepare for appointments .
Ask for the reasonable adjustments you are entitled to.
With Services
We help services listen directly to the people who use them, so they become more inclusive and responsive.
We bring our experience of shaping services around the lived experience and priorities of the people they’re for.
We’ll work with each service to find the right approach - from helping gather lived experience to inform our training and consultancy, through to supporting a service to run its own co-design work.
What's next?
Ways to be Heard is still growing.
Over the coming months we'll create more opportunities for you to share your experience and help shape what we build.
As our community grows, so will the ways people can get involved.
Be part of it
Whether you have lived experience, ideas to share or simply want to follow what we're building, we'd love for you to be part of the journey.
Your experiences matter. Because better support starts by listening.
Image source: Disabled And Here
Reasonable adjustments checklist
A free resource designed to help you communicate your needs when accessing support from services.
Explaining your experiences, asking for adjustments, or finding the right words during appointments can be difficult. This form allows you to take your time and share what may help you feel supported, comfortable, and understood.
Once completed, you can save it as a PDF to share with services or print it out and bring it to appointments.