Last year, service users and staff celebrated Learning Disabilities Week by designing artwork to showcase in the Newhaven Ward courtyard.
The theme, ‘Do you see me?‘, encouraged service users to express themselves through creativity. They were given arts and crafts materials, along with miniature wooden human cutouts, handcrafted by one of the service users during a woodwork course. Each service user decorated their wooden figure to reflect their personality, interests, and achievements, creating a visual representation of their identity.
The service users enjoyed getting involved in the project. One service user commented “I was grateful for the opportunity to create the wooden cut-outs for others to decorate, especially after learning new skills through my woodwork course.”
At the end of the week, staff and service users celebrated the unveiling of their artwork by having a summer garden party.
Chelsey Lockwood, health care assistant said “The wooden cut-outs have been a fantastic way for service users’ to express themselves creatively. They’ve brightened up our courtyard and now serve as a colourful, lasting reminder of service users who have been part of Newhaven and have since moved on.”
