Speak Up Council

We are the Advocacy Group for Saint John of God Kildare Services.

Advocacy is about speaking up for yourself, speaking up for others and finding solutions to issues that are important to us.

There are 10 people on the Council representing Residential, Day and Liffey Valley Services.  The Council members are elected on to the Speak Up Council for two years.

We get together each month for a meeting. At the meeting we talk about things that matter in Kildare Services and in the community. We talk about changes we would like to make and what has been happening since the last meeting. We make action plans and keep track of all the work we do on an issue. Mostly the issues are about having physical access to places, accessing transport, attending events and training, and working with other committees in Kildare Services.

We meet with the Management team to discuss things that are important to the Speak Up Council. It is important that people have a chance to speak up and speak out. It is important that people take part in decision making and have choices about how they want to live their lives.

Each area of the service holds a monthly Speak Up meeting where people discuss the issues that are important to them in that area.  The group focuses on finding a solution to their issue.  If the issue cannot be solved locally, it is brought to the attention of the Speak Up Council.

The notes of Speak Up Council meetings are sent to all areas in an easy to read format.  These notes are shared with the local groups at the monthly Speak Up meetings.