Justice In Care

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I invite you to attend the second meeting of our Justice in Care group which is dedicated to promoting justice for and preventing the abuse or exploitation of disabled people or service-users or residents within the care system.  This Justice in Care group is co-ordinated by Parasol in co-operation with the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday November 3rd from 2.00 - 4.00pm via the Zoom link given below.  We intend our group to have regular virtual meetings every two months on the same weekday / time subject to agreement by the participants.  We also intend to have a regular Justice in Care newsletter or update and welcome contributions or articles for it.

We held our first public meeting in Rochdale in December 2019 just prior to the General Election.    We had intended to hold a second public meeting in Manchester in the Spring 2020 but unfortunately this had to be postponed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.   We apologise for this delay and hope that you will understand why this was necessary.

The Justice in Care initiative was set up to raise awareness of unjust or damaging care practices in the care system.  This includes Assessment and Treatment Units, Local Authority Care Homes or Care Homes commissioned by Local Authorities and Unregulated care homes.  We will also review the impact of Covid-19 on the fraught situation in various care settings.

This meeting will be hosted by Tom Griffiths, an Advocate for Parasol and Secretary of the Mental Health Charter Alliance and Joe Whittaker who is a member of GMCDP and the Alliance for Inclusive Education.  We will be inviting speakers to introduce each item on the agenda followed by an open discussion in which all participants are welcome to contribute.

We especially welcome ideas and suggestions from anyone who has a direct experience of the Care system or who has campaigned or spoken out previously on any of these issues.

Justice in Care will adopt a right-based approach and search out ways in which together we can better advocate with and on behalf of people in the care system - both as individuals and on a collective basis.   At our next meeting, we will discuss the specific purpose of our group and how it can complement but be distinct from other local or national campaign networks.

For more information about the Justice in Care group or my own role as an Advocate on behalf of Parasol or details about the Mental Health Charter, please contact me at kindness.parasol@gmail.com