White painted question mark on distressed wall

What is User Voice?

User Voice is a chance for us to come together (virtually for now!) and use our lived experience to change the world

People sitting around a conference table. A woman is standing and pointing at orange and pink sticky notes on the walll

How will we do that?

We hold regular focus groups, conduct research and campaigns and provide platforms for community storytelling

Hands coming from left and right sit palm down on a log. They are of various skin tones. One wears a large ring, another blue nail varnish and another a black bracelet.

Who is it for?

We want to hear and amplify the voices of anyone who is – or cares for – a person over 18, who lives or works in Barnet and has lived experience of disability

The philosophy

Disability is life on hard mode – but it doesn’t have to be this hard. We want to break down the barriers society puts in our way, and create a better and more inclusive world for everyone.

As disabled people, we are experts by experience. Whether we are D/deaf, neurodivergent, live with a physical impairment, a chronic health condition, mental health issue or learning disability (or all of the above!), we have skills that can’t be learned in a classroom.

The project

We run regular focus groups to find out what issues are being faced by disabled people in the Borough, what they’d like to see change and how they feel about plans that will impact them. We look at local and national government policy consultations, and use the collective opinions of the User Voice groups to inform our research and responses.

How it will work

For now we run the groups remotely via video call, which we know has its benefits and drawbacks.

We also provide the opportunity to give your input via surveys or a one-to-one telephone or video call, if you don’t want to or can’t attend the group sessions.

Get involved!

User Voice forum dates and joining instructions are published on the tabs at the left-hand side of the page.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the team:

Email: uservoice@inclusionbarnet.org.uk

Tel/SMS/WhatsApp: 07719 105 107 (Eve) / 07732 900 242 (Sam)

Inclusion Barnet User Voice Forum logo

Do you believe in a fairer world for disabled people?

Access to local public spaces and services. A welfare benefits system that works for, not against, the people who need it. Suitable housing. Opportunities to work, study or volunteer.

What would an equal Barnet look like to you?

Join us to talk about the issues facing disabled people today and how we can use our lived experience to fight for better, for all of us.

Upcoming Events

As part of our ongoing commitment to accessibility, we are currently in the process of implementing some clever technology which will allow us to hold hybrid meetings. This will mean that those who are able to travel can attend in person, and those who are more comfortable accessing the forums online can continue to do so.

Watch this space for dates coming very soon!

Minutes of Previous Forums 

14th December 2021 – Disability Rights Forum

Download the minutes

25 November 2021 – Barnet Voice for Mental Health Forum

Download the minutes

7th July 2021 – Disability Rights Forum

Download the minutes

Jon Abrams, Campaigns and Justice Coordinator for our close friends and allies Inclusion London joined us to discuss the campaign to #ScrapCareCharging.

12th May 2021 – Barnet Voice for Mental Health Forum

Download the minutes

What is lost when services are decommissioned? Formulating a position paper on the commissioning cycle and why continuity of services is important for people who access mental health support

31st March 2021 – Disability Rights Forum

Download the minutes

We were joined by Ella Abraham of the Disability Benefits Consortium and anti-poverty charity Z2K to ask: does the 2021 Budget discriminate against disabled people?

17th February 2021 – Barnet Voice for Mental Health Forum

Download the minutes

Introducing the Barnet Voice Forum

Equivox logo. Instagram: @equivox_campaign

 What’s your hidden experience? What’s the one thing that you wish people knew about what it’s like to live with your impairment or condition? What could friends and family, employers and local authorities, do to make life better for you?

Equivox is a peer-led awareness-raising campaign encouraging people to share their experiences and insights of being disabled with the wider community. Because, let’s face it, most us know that the daily reality of being disabled is poorly understood. You can read more about the purpose of the project.

**CLICK HERE FOR NEW SURVEY ON LIVED EXPERIENCE OF CHRONIC ILLNESS (survey is open until Monday 20th June)**

So how does it work? Equivox’s HQ is on Instagram, where we share posts about people’s real-life lived experience. You can follow us there, contribute your own stories using the link below, invite friends and acquaintances to follow us,  and comment on/share the stories you hear. 

We will also share stories from Equivox across our social media platforms and on our dedicated microsite (coming soon). Equivox is run by peers, and staff at Inclusion Barnet have also contributed their experiences. We don’t ask anyone do to anything that we ourselves are not prepared to do.  

The first phase of the campaign will run from early January to the end of May 2022. During this time, we will analyse all the insights and ideas that people have shared, and use the (anonymised) data to produce a report outlining the most impactful changes that can be made, so that your contributions can make a difference in the world. This report will be made freely available. 

Here’s how you can contribute:

  • Write a short paragraph or two. You can also submit accompanying pictures/photos.
  • Make a short video on your phone – nothing glamourous or meme-worthy required, just be authentic!  If you would like help making a video, email us at equivox@inclusionbarnet.org.uk. 
  •  Write a blog.
  • Send a text, voice or WhatsApp message.
  • Record as a video or audio file a peer interview with another disabled person, discussing your experiences.

Guidelines for contributions

  • Each personal video or audio recording should be between 2 and 5  minutes long; written paragraphs should be approximately 200-500 words; full-length blogs should be between 1000-1500 words; and peer interviews can be up to 10 minutes.
  • Stick to one theme per submission. For example, you could use the following framing: “One thing I wish that people understood about what it’s like to live with (name of specific condition/disability) would be…” or “One change that could make a huge difference to my life with (name of specific condition/disability) would be….”
  • You can submit as many contributions as you like.
  • We are only looking for contributions from people with lived experience of disability/long-term health conditions (but everyone is welcome to follow, share, and comment on what they hear).
  • Please keep it respectful (in other words, we won’t publish anything that uses discriminatory and/or harmful terms or ideas – but we will work with you to make changes to your content if necessary).
  • If you wish us to remove your contribution at any time, just let us know and we will take it down straight away.

How to submit your contribution*:

  • For video: 1) Fill in the monitoring form below 2) Go to WeTransfer*, upload your video, send to equivox@inclusionbarnet.org.uk, and use your name as the title. That’s it! It will take a few minutes to upload and send, and you will receive an email confirming that we have received it. We have scrutinised the WeTransfer privacy statement, and are satisfied that your content will be secure.
  • For Word documents and audio files: 1) Fill in the monitoring form below 2) Send your document as an attachment to equivox@inclusionbarnet.org.uk, using ‘Equivox submission’ as the title.
  • For messages: 1) Fill in the form below 2) Send your text message, WhatsApp message or voice message to 07732 900 242

*If you need any assistance making or submitting your contribution, please email equivox@inclusionbarnet.org.uk

Contact us: 

Instagram: @equivox_campaign

Email: equivox@inclusionbarnet.org.uk

Phone: 07732 900 242 

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    The User Voice project provides opportunities for disabled people in Barnet to have our voices heard and amplified