In 2000 Asist set up Reach, a speaking up group for people with learning disabilities in Stoke-on-Trent. Reach Members spoke up for people with learning disabilities in Stoke-on-Trent, as well as speaking up about their communities.

“In real life, a learning disability is when someone learns to do things slower. Someone may find it difficult to understand complicated words or to concentrate for a long time. But we can still do what other people do. Having a learning disability means I need help with some things, but I am a published author, a university speaker, an award winner and a peer researcher”. – Carl West, Reach Member, 2016.

In 2023 Reach became part of Asist Community Advocacy, we now support more people in Stoke-on-Trent to have a voice as we work with a wide variety of community groups. John Mawman, a longstanding Reach member and former Co-Chair of the Stoke-on-Trent Learning Disability Partnership Board, said “it’s still Reach. You’re just reaching further, to more people.”

Our Co-Production work in Staffordshire supports people with lived experience to have an equal voice when designing projects and services. By engaging groups in the earliest stages of developing services and evaluation. 

Co-Production is a way of working that involves people with lived experience who use services and support. It gives people an equal and supports people at the earliest stages to have a say in service design, development and evaluation. We engage with people through the following:

• Meetings and subgroup meetings of the Disability Partnership Board
• provision of clear information and accessible information
• involvement in county council processes
• the Disability Partnership website
• our Collected Stories project.