Hertfordshire PASS's AGM and the integrity of its user-driven work

(The following represents the views of Nigel Fenner, and not necessarily those of Hertfordshire PASS.)

I feel we had an excellent Annual General Meeting (AGM) last Friday which included the active participation of Stephen McPartland, our local MP, and Carol Latif, the Mayoress of Stevenage.

We try hard to be a 'user-driven charity….' so most of the AGM presentations were delivered by two trustees and 7 staff regarding the work they 'drive'.  As our local MP remarked, in responding to all these presentations….."with Hertfordshire PASS, you get what it says on the tin".

But what is 'user-driven' when you open this tin? Is it just about disabled people employed by Hertfordshire PASS leading the organisation's projects, or is it much more than this?  To answer this question, let me share two recent experiences I've had over the last 10 days…..

Firstly one of our senior staff ( - who recently finished his apprenticeship with PASS) was in, what we call the 'hot seat', where he was asked questions about the experience of being an apprentice by new apprentices and staff.  Here is part of the dialogue which took place:
Question: What do you  feel are the greatest differences or similarities for you between school and the apprenticeship you did here at PASS?
Answer: ( - which was immediate) I was bullied at school  - which made me stronger.
Response by one of the new apprentices: Stronger - you're kidding!!?
Answer: I don't regret having been bullied…..Of course it was something I hated….it was a living hell….but I see now that it has made me stronger…...
Question: What might Hertfordshire PASS do through its apprenticeship programme  - to make our apprentices stronger?
Answer: It's clear to me that because Hertfordshire PASS is user-driven I have been put under different challenges which have had the same effect of making me stronger.
(This quote / dialogue has been used with permission.)

The other experience relates to a comment made by one of PASS's existing apprentices during a discussion on 'what our 'starting point' was on our journey to independence?' The staff member said 'if I had not had so many tantrums when I was younger I would not have been sent to (name of residential home) by my mum…...which forced me to be independent…... If this had not happened I don’t think I would be where I am now…..in leading on the work I do for PASS'.  (This quote has also been used with permission.)

What I feel these comments tell me about user-driven work is that it is not enough just to put our staff into positions of responsibility in 'user-driving' PASS's work, as there also needs to be opportunity for all of us to explore and understand what experiences we've had in the past, that 'drive' us now as individuals. This is about the integrity of PASS's user-driven work.

In psychology going on this personal journey is called individuation. As far as PASS is concerned we call it independent living, and refer to it in our AIM statement: To be a user-driven charity using employment and 'being an employer of care staff / PAs' to enable disabled people to live independently - which is 'what it says on the tin'.