Respect trainers for people - Hertfordshire

Introduction

Respect was formed by a group of people who have come together through the common experiences of being labelled as having a learning disability, and of being on the receiving end of bullying and harassment.

In December 2005 we started doing a 10 week course, at Oaklands College in Welwyn Garden City, called ‘Training for Change’; which later changed to ‘Train the trainer’.

After qualifying from the 10 week course the group continued to meet at Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, to develop our training program. The group is supported by Saint John of God Hospitaller Services.

The Training

The training program encourages participants to think about:

• Situations that we have been in like being bullied and called names
• Discrimination
• People with learning disabilities, and how they would like to be
supported 

We do this by telling them about ourselves, about our personal
experiences, and by doing group activities to encourage them to think. 

The training program can be adapted to meet the specific needs and   constraints of a group.  We can provide training for a few hours to a
whole day.

Our Experience

We have trained groups of various sizes from 12-40 people.  This has
included support workers and administration staff.  We are still a new
group, but our confidence and our skills grow all the time. We are currently working on delivering this training to people and organisations who provide support to people both locally and travelling
to other parts of the country; and  to young people and their teachers in local schools.

Future Plans

In the future we would like to provide training to local councils, the local police forces, community street wardens, as well as to local businesses so that everyone gets a chance to hear our message.

Our Aims

• Provide training which
  - Helps people understand that we are human beings
  - Help people understand how to treat people with respect
  - To treat people for who they are and not what they are
• Challenge discrimination, bullying and harassment
• Educate people of all ages about the affects of bullying and harassment on the victims

Contact

For more information about this training or to book a training session

please contact our supporters at Saint John of God Hospitaller Services - Pat Cowley  or Andrea Garden at:
Saint John of God Hospitaller Services,
Barry House, 69-71 High street,
Potters Bar, HERTS, EN6 5AS,
Tel: 01707 671080