Drive Launches Life after Covid: and how Technology can help Project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Adults with Learning Disabilities are particularly affected by the ongoing restrictions caused by Covid-19. At Drive, we are committed to ensuring that the people we support live their lives to the fullest, doing the things they want to do, with the people they want to do it with.

Our dedicated staff provide the most amazing support, ensuring that adults with learning disabilities are active in their local communities.

We are grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for their support over the next three years
to help Drive face the challenges created by the Coronavirus pandemic.

This grant will enable Drive to tackle the impact that the ongoing lockdown restrictions have had on the mental wellbeing of the
people we support, limiting access to group activities and interrupting normal routines. This support will help us implement safe measures to re-connect people as things continue to change.

The people we support will have a leading voice in all the decisions we take, choosing the types of activities and helping us understand what works and what doesn’t work as we explore how technology can help people connect with old friends and find safe ways of making new ones. We will
also explore how we can use digital technology to record positive outcomes and stories to expand life opportunities. We are inviting new people – artists, musicians, fitness instructors, mindfulness practitioners – to explore new ways of delivering sessions with us. And when restrictions ease, we
will increase opportunities through partnership in shared spaces – indoors, outdoors – exploring the world again and challenging ourselves to try new things.

We are excited to launch this project with sharing videos to remember the things we did over Christmas, as we embark on the first stages of exploration that the National Lottery Community Fund has enabled us to do: Digital Inclusion – Life after Covid.

Press Release:    English/ Welsh

“Lockdown has been really difficult. Everything I used to know changed and I really missed going out and seeing my friends. Over Christmas, so much has happened – we sang songs, we ate good food. I loved the panto. Julie made sure I could go. That it was safe. … but I’m worried about the new restrictions. Will I still be able to see my friends?”