Funded by BBC Children in Need, Future Change Makers is a 3-year project that will support young people aged 11-18 from socially and economically disadvantaged communities and youth organisations to use Community Reporting as a changemaking tool.

The project aims to provide young people and youth organisations with skills to create narratives on issues affecting their lives and communities and applying these skills to lead small-scale social action projects. As well training young people we will also run Train the Trainer training supporting youth professionals to deliver Community Reporting training in the future making it sustainable and creating a world of ‘narrative change’ possibilities. 

Alongside the training and supporting youth organisations to use Community Reporting as a changemaking tool, the project will establish a sub-network – the Young People’s Community Reporter (YPCR) network – within the existing Community Reporter network. The YPCR network will also support existing young Community Reporters who are already trained, providing opportunities for further capacity-building and consolidation of skills.

The project has started recruiting organisations for the 3-year programme. We will be kicking off with the first group, Army of Kindness in Rochdale in October. We are looking for organisations that work with disadvantaged children and young people to join us in the exciting project.

If you are interested in getting involved or finding out more, please contact Kath at kath@peoplesvoicemedia.co.uk

Earlier this year, we teamed up with community members in Wigan to share information and skills around Ripple Effect Mapping.

Across a series of 4 sessions, people learnt about the Ripple Effect Mapping process, creating their own maps, learning how to facilitate this approach to impact measurement within their own communities, and developing skills in packaging the findings in the form of written reports and presentations.

The learning from the sessions culminated in a community sharing event, during which the group showcased their Ripple Effect Maps and shared the learning from the workshops.

The group have continued with their work around Ripple Effect Mapping and intend on using this methodology well into the future supporting the development of a range of different community initiatives.

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Community Reporting Project in Wigan!

Throughout August, we have delivered 2 days of Community Reporter Training as part of our ongoing work with Well Doncaster.

Community members from across the region came together to develop new approaches to lived experience storytelling. They learnt about story gathering techniques, including dialogue interviews, snapshot stories, and personal monologues, and how different recording methods and approaches can be used to capture these elements. We covered the basics of photography, audio recording, and how to capture videos with the people they intend to interview. The group also explored what responsible practice looks like, bringing in their own knowledge and expertise into the discussion, helping to equip them with the ethical tools to approach storytelling in a safe and responsible way.

The group will now work towards gathering a set of stories exploring community members’ experiences with living through and accessing cancer services in the local area, receiving a five-hundred-pound grant per person for their commitment and contributions. These stories will be uploaded to the Community Reporter Website to help build a picture of current cancer care services in and around Doncaster. Looking ahead, as part of the Well Doncaster Project, we will be co-hosting a Conversation of Change Event, which will see community members, reporters, and cancer support sector workers come together to discuss what changes need to happen to improve the current system.

Stay tuned for more updates!

This week marks a significant moment in the ongoing COVID-19 Inquiry, focusing on the Care Sector from 30 June to 31 July 2025, as part of Module 6.

It is crucial that we do not forget the immense challenges faced during the pandemic — especially by those working tirelessly within care settings, as well as the deaf and disabled communities and their carers.

We want to extend our deepest thanks to all those who are giving evidence this week, including many of our colleagues and friends. Their dedication to advocating, influencing policy, and sharing lived experiences shines a vital light on the realities of the pandemic. It’s these voices — the people at the heart of the crisis — that hold the key to understanding and learning from this moment in history.

At People’s Voice Media, we are proud to have contributed to this important conversation through our work exploring the experiences of deaf and disabled people and carers during COVID-19. Our report and video testimonies reveal the resilience, challenges, and strength of communities often overlooked in mainstream narratives.

We invite you to read our full report and watch these powerful videos. By listening to and sharing these lived experiences, we help ensure that future policies are truly informed by those they impact most.

The lessons of COVID-19 are still unfolding, but one thing is clear: the stories of people matter. Let us keep listening.

Explore our report and videos here:  

• #NationalCareForum
• #NCF
• #SocialCare
• #CareSector
• #CareProviders
• #CareQuality
• #SocialCareSupport
• #CareWorkforce
• #CareReform
• #AdultSocialCare

A Blog Post by Jacqueline Darlington – Carer, Mum, Community Equipment User

There’s a quiet power in bringing people together. Recently, I joined a brilliant knowledge exchange filled with people who get it—carers, equipment User, prescribers, commissioners—all with one shared focus: community equipment.

What stood out wasn’t shiny new gadgets. It was people. People talking about co-production, timely access, and how the smallest things—like a properly placed grab rail or the right seating—can make the biggest difference.

As a mum to Joshua, who relies on equipment every day, and as someone who uses it myself, I know equipment is about choice, control, and dignity. It’s about staying in our own homes, living gloriously ordinary lives, and not feeling like we’re doing it alone.

Someone at the event said, “It’s the peer support and solidarity that keeps me going—knowing I’m not the only one navigating this.” That stayed with me.

Sharing our lived experiences isn’t just powerful—it’s essential. It’s how we reimagine a future where people like us help shape the systems meant to support us. Manufacturers, commissioners, prescribers—listen to our stories.

What next? We’re not sure. But what we do know is: we’re coming back together. And we’ll keep raising our voices until the system hears us.

“Equipment matters because people matter.” – Isaac Samuels, 2024

Find out about Co-Production on the TLAP website linked here.

Head over to the Community Reporter Website to see the Equipment Matters Film and explore the full set of stories – including Jacqui’s!

Want to discover what Gloriously Ordinary Lives are doing in the world of support? See how they are building a movement that is working to check whether or not someone who might need some support is getting to live the life they choose and the support they get is helping and not getting in the way. Check out their site here.

See what Medequip have to say about their involvement in this work on their page.