Blog

This week (20-26 June) is Learning Disability Week, an annual campaign making sure the world hears what life is like if you have a learning disability.

Love4Life is a network for people with learning disabilities to make friends and find love. For many, the group offers a first opportunity to build connections with others.

Hayley and Hazel took on the challenge of a lifetime last weekend when they hiked 58km across the Jurassic Coast, all to raise money for Love4Life, our friendship and dating network for autistic people and people with learning disabilities.

Love4Life is a lifechanging network for people with learning disabilities and has been supporting members to build friendships and find love for more than five years.

Love4Life application form

Rehearsals are in full swing at Love4Life for their upcoming Christmas production of The Wizard of Oz.

After teaching Zumba at Love4Life for more than two years, Hazel decided she wanted to support members further by becoming a Love4Life volunteer.

During the pandemic, our friendship and dating project Love4Life has continued their vital work offering a lifeline of communication to their members in what would otherwise be a very lonely time. And, thanks to the hard work of our Love4Life team, members like Thomas have continued to benefit and develop new skills – even from their online events.

Love4Life members are celebrating the start of face-to-face events again after months of online workshops during lockdown.

This year’s Learning Disability Week, taking place from 15 June to 21 June, celebrates the importance of friendships during lockdown. Because of the pandemic, we have all been living life in the ‘new normal’ of lockdown. This means that many people with a learning disability are at risk of feeling isolated, as they have been unable to see their friends and family.