Based in the North East of England, Your Voice Counts is a charity established in
1991 that empowers people including those with learning disabilities, autism and
mental ill health to have choice and control over their lives.

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Working with our partners, we design and deliver learning, personal development and
social opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autistic people and
promote and support self-advocacy and user-led groups so people can speak up for
what they want and need, be better connected and have choice and control over their
lives. 

 

We are also a statutory provider of mental health and learning disability advocacy
services for people living in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and South Tyneside.

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The power of lived experience

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Experts by Experience are at the heart of everything we do and we’re proud to create opportunities for people with lived experience of learning disabilities, autism and mental ill health at every level of our organisation, ranging from our Board of Directors to our team of staff and volunteers.

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Our purpose

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We exist because vulnerable people often need support to participate, be included and to have a voice. A society that recognises that people with different needs and abilities all have valuable contributions to make is better, fairer and richer for everyone.

 

Our vision

 

We are working to build an inclusive society that is understanding of the needs of all with communities that are welcoming and supportive, where people have the opportunity to live their best life.

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Our values

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Our values guide everything we do:

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• Promoting equality - We work to get equal opportunities for everyone

• Learning and growing - We challenge ourselves and each other to help us get better at what we do.

• Working together - We achieve more by working as a team than by acting alone.

• Being person-centred - We put people's needs first

• Being accountable - We are honest and take responsibility for our actions.   

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Awards and accreditations

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We are proud to hold the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark and be recognised as a Disability Confident and Mindful Employer.

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Our partners and funders

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We are proud to work in partnership with local authorities and NHS services across Newcastle upon Tyne, South Tyneside and Gateshead to deliver integrated services across the health and social care system.

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We are also grateful to our grant funders who enable us to add value to our work and extend our capacity to reach broader communities and respond to growing levels of need.