The ‘So what, what next?’ project aimed to improve services and support for people with a learning disability or autism, or those who may display behaviour that is challenging.

The focus was on supporting people to use their strengths, become active citizens and to grow their independence.

Community Catalysts led, managed and supported the project, and produced the final report. We worked with the Black Country Transforming Care Partnership to:

What the project involved

We made connections with all the people we thought might help. This included:

• People with lived experience and peer support groups
• Commissioners
• Social workers
• Care and support providers

We also:

• Found out what was already happening in the Black Country.
• Wrote lots of easy read forms and tools.
• Identified 14 people who had recently moved out of hospital and into the community to talk to.
• Found out about lots of the good things that are happening in the Black Country that might help people use their strengths.
• Met 10 people and some of their families and support providers. Found out what they are good at and what they care about.
• Came up with ideas for them, their families and support providers. Found opportunities for people in their local community.
• Made introductions.
• Helped people and their supporters to make a plan for the future.
• Wrote down the stories of some the people, who they are, what they are good at, what they did and what they are planning to do next.

People's stories

Ten people with experience of life in hospital helped us with this project. They had all moved out of hospital within the last 12 months and some people had only moved out very recently. They told us their stories, shared their hopes and dreams and helped us keep the project real.

Learning and recommendations

The personal stories, learning and recommendations for decision makers, professionals and supporters are included in the full report.