July 2025 update
National Learning Disability and Autism Awards
On Friday 4th July, Catheryne, Erin and Adam attended the National Learning Disability and Autism awards, down at the ICC in Birmingham.
Sunderland People First were nominated as part of the Good Life Collaborative, for the amazing work we do in delivering Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training. The competition was stiff, so while we didn’t win, all nominees were thanked for their work and we had a wonderful experience.
We even met an unexpected special guest, Peter Andre!
Erin, Catheryne and Adam with Peter Andre at the National Learning Disability and Autism Awards.
Drop in
For our July drop in, we celebrated National Eat Your Beans Day by making some beautiful bean and pulse themed artwork. As usual, we also had our vibrant games corner on the go too. We hope to see you at our next drop in on Thursday 7th August from 10am to 12pm, at our 9 Derwent Street office.
Some bean themed artwork from our advocates.
Art at Diego’s
A small group from the team have been looking to explore our artistic and creative talents, and where better to do that than at Diego’s wonderful Wednesday drop in? We experimented with watercolours, glitter, paint pens and more, to create some astonishing works of art. We hope everyone who attended is proud of their progress!
Lucy, Erin and Bryony hard at work.
ESPA College Graduation
On the 10th, Catheryne, Ashley and Erin went along to celebrate the graduations of ESPA students. It was wonderful to learn about the amazing things that their learners had accomplished in the last year!
Erin and Ashley at the ESPA graduation ceremony.
Team lunch
Some of the team visited Sea Change café at the Winter Gardens for a lovely lunch. Sea Change is a social enterprise café offering neurodiverse young people the opportunity to grow their skills and confidence through accessing meaningful and sustainable employment. Our food was delicious, and we would really recommend them to anyone looking for a lovely space to relax. The outdoor seating was lovely and sunny, with great views of Mowbray Park!
A delicious lunch at Sea Change!
Humanising Healthcare
You can find a wonderful summary of our team’s visit to Humanising Healthcare, written by advocate and director Ian Middleton, here.
The Humanising Healthcare team.
Mind Summer Picnic
To get involved in our local community, some of the team had a lovely sunny afternoon at the Sunderland Mind summer picnic. We ate delicious fruit salads, painted on their paper wall, and gave our feedback on what we would like to see in the community. It was a fab way to spend the day!
Phil and Karen at the Mind picnic.
Yarn Art
With the very exciting news that the women’s rugby world cup is opening right here in Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, communities like ours have been asked to help ‘yarn bomb’ the city to welcome our Red Roses. With the crocheting expertise of our very own Karen Hughes and the creative mind of Lucy, Sunderland People First will be designing our own crochet creations. Watch this space!
Ian and Lucy learning some new skills with yarn.