Since the Coronavirus (COVID-19) first lockdown began in March 2020 adults with a learning disability, their parents/carers have contacted One Place East expressing their frustration and anger about their treatment during the crisis. Many lost their support, services and social contact.
One Place East’s staff and volunteers also reported unprecedented levels of loneliness and anxiety amongst this user group.
Therefore, we successfully applied and secured a grant from The London Community Response Fund to engage adults with a learning disability in a research project exploring their lived experience of the crisis and future support needs.
The research findings showed some key insights including 95% of adults reporting the pandemic had impacted their daily life negatively; 78% had not been able to attend their day services; 36% had not been able to contact family and friends and the need to address digital exclusion.
Watch this short video and hear some of the experiences of these individuals.
You can find out more about the impact of the Coronavirus Crisis upon adults with a learning disability by downloading our full report.
We have also produced an accessible film that captures the research findings, lived experiences and recommendations for change. This will be coming soon.