Past Campaigns

Justice for Laughing Boy

On Thursday 4th July 2013, 18 year old Connor Sparrowhawk had an epileptic seizure and drowned in a bath at Slade House in Oxford.

My Life My Choice members have played an integral part of the subsequent campaign to get justice for Connor, known as Laughing Boy, or ‘LB’, to his friends and family, and other people with learning disabilities who die preventable deaths whilst  in the care of the NHS.

For the most up to date campaign information, please visit http://justiceforlb.org/.

Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign

Once the COVID-19 vaccine was safely developed, our trustees were determined to ensure people with a learning disability were not left behind. The Champions group successfully campaigned for Oxfordshire to be one of the first areas to prioritise people with a learning disability for a COVID-19 vaccine and then worked with the charity Mencap to embed this change nationally.

Our fortnightly on-line meetings for Champions have seen our campaigners challenge CQC, the local authority and the national government over COVID-19 issues (e.g. accessible information). The Champions were successful in a funding bid to the National Lottery’s “Leaders with Lived Experience” programme; this enabled us to continue our campaigns that aim to reduce health inequalities.

I am not a Scrounger

In 2014, My Life My Choice received funding from OXFAM, Co-op, Oxford City Council, and Comic Relief, to challenge the national media and politician’s rhetoric labelling benefit recipients as scroungers. At the time, MLMC had over 500 members, many of which were in receipt of benefits and the majority were desperate to work.

The national debate at the time talked about benefit recipients as if they were a burden. We thought this was narrow-minded, insulting, and simply not true. MLMC Members have always contributed to their communities in a wide range of ways. In this user-led film, a group of people with learning disabilities share their stories and tell the world that they are not ‘scroungers’.