Impact Report - COVID 2020/21

Impact
report
Our response to the pandemic and its recovery (2020/21)

2020/21 Impact
We engaged with over 250
members online during
2020/21
The average attendance
was 14 members per online
event in 2021(13 in 2020)
Over 60% of our paid
workforce are adults with
disabilities
We hosted:
37 in person events
(2020 pre-pandemic)
195 zoom events (2020)
+ 229 zoom events(2021)
+ 9 in person events (2021)
In total = 470 social events
Additionally, get2gether members contributed to our
online community by leading over 550 initiatives
independently, 279 (in 2020) and 271 (in 2021).
Our members demonstrate that people with lived
experience of disabilities want to take active leadership
roles in the service design.

The future is accessible!
The get2gether approach seeks to find ways to support
adults with disabilities to live their own lives.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented challenges for all of us.
get2gether saw this as an opportunity for community
learning and development. We responded to the
challenge by providing a platform for our members to
share their experiences and set their priorities.
Our members demonstrate that transformation towards an
accessible future is possible when people with lived
experience can contribute by leading the new service
developments.
Mojca Becaj
get2gether’s Director

Our aims
We believe that everyone has value and is capable of
achieving their potential with the right support and
encouragement.
Aims
Outcomes
Activities
get2gether works towards these
aims:
1. Reducing social isolation among
adults with disabilities
2. Increased emotional awareness
3. Increased resilience and
4. Increased self determination of
adults with disabilities.

Activities and outcomes
We worked with the Evaluation Support Scotland and
defined the outcomes we want to achieve for our
members. As a result of our work, adults with disabilities will:
1. feel more connected
2. spend more time doing the
things they want to do
3. gain a bigger peer-support
network
4. have a greater number of
relationships (any type)
5. be active in the community
6. be better able to express their
emotions
8. be better able to build
meaningful relationships
9. have increased selfconfidence
10. spend more time with people
that they choose
11. have increased expectations
for what might be possible
12. be better able to deal with
the ups and downs of life
7. take more positive risks
The activities we arrange with and for our members support
our outcomes. get2gether’s main actives are:
• Social events in person and online
• Courses aimed at building better relationships
• Skill-building workshops

Adult to adult approach
We use an adult to adult approach alongside coaching
and mentoring in all of our activities and interactions with
adults with disabilities, both out in the community and
online.
Where are our members from?
57% from City of Edinburgh
16% from East Lothian
15% from Midlothian
10% from other parts of Scotland
2% from the rest of the UK

Membership
The diversity of our membership increases
the variety of opportunities available to all.
930
adults with lived
experience
get2gether membership is free and open
to all adults with disabilities, we currently
have over 930 adults with disabilities.
Our membership includes people with
learning disabilities, autism, physical
disabilities, brain injuries, visual impairments
and other chronic health conditions.
930 newsletters
received monthly
A monthly events programme is
sent out to all members, with
details of social opportunities.
250 digitally
engaged
8
in employment
250 (27%) members are digitally
engaged, parttaking in the online
activities.
8 (0,9%) members are in employment
and play key roles in the development
of get2gether by creating
opportunities for other members to be
involved and work towards our aims.

Community
get2gether is offering a positive way to work together to
promote social inclusion for those with lived experience of
disabilities. For them, this means having good relationships
with friends, belonging to a thriving community and having
great social lives.
At ‘Monday Magic’
get2gether members are
encouraged to suggest and
take the lead in the events for
the coming week on our
moderated Facebook group.
This gives people the
opportunity to try out ideas
and find their own social
media voice.
Our Coordinators and Digital
Ambassadors offer appropriate
support so that individuals can
plan and deliver these events
as independently as possible.
87% said that they are
learning new things about
technology
100% of survey participants
said they feel included,
supported, and encouraged
to contribute to our events
programme
87% said they made new
friends
“The only people that
can change things for
disabled people are us,
people with lived
experiences;
we have to take control
in our hands and we
started doing this at
get2gether.”

Natalie
Natalie joined get2gether in July 2021. She had always felt
isolated and ‘alien’, struggling to keep up with social norms
but she hadn’t figured out why.
Signing up to her first event felt like a huge step.
By doing this Natalie started attending and participating in
more events, engaging with other members and
contributing at Monday Magic, the heart of get2gether’s
community spirit.
"I am really enjoying get2gether.
I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't expect to
feel as included as I have.”

Pop Up Events
get2gether’s Ambassadors led a safe transition back into
the in-person community events, using the pre-pandemic
knowledge of local infrastructure, as well as supporting
new member-led initiatives that have evolved during the
pandemic.
Pop Up Events are in-person events hosted by get2gether’s
Ambassadors. With only 8 spaces per event, we currently
do not advertise details of when and where events are
taking place, to mitigate COVID-19 risks. Events
coordinators are supporting the smooth delivery “behind
the scenes”, following our risk enablement strategy.

Risk enablement strategy
At get2gether we are driven by the belief that adults with
disabilities should be treated as adults and that everyone
has the right to live the life they want.
We work in a way that not only acknowledges the
inevitability of risk, but also supports and encourages our
members to take life enhancing risks and to learn through
experience.
We recognise our role as providing opportunities in a
supportive culture through which our members can gain
the skills they need to manage risks for themselves. This
doesn’t start and stop with a skydiving trip or a big lifestyle
change; it’s also about the small things.
"The highlight of my whole year was coming
along to the event at the museum.
Seeing people is helping me stay positive."
9/9 Pop Up events
in 2021 were
all fully booked!
get2gether aims to provide
opportunities and access to
information that individuals
can choose to utilise in order
to inform their own decisions
about risks.

Courses
get2gether courses provide information and coaching to
build the life-skills that underpin the ability to form healthy
relationships.
The courses are co-delivered by Peer Mentors, all of which
are adults with a lived experience of disabilities. This fosters
peer-to-peer support, a powerful tool to prevent mental
health issues and improve general wellbeing .
Live Your Life Course
Our 12-week Live Your Life (LYL) course combines Solution
Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Wellbeing
Practices and Emotional Intelligence. These ideas are
adapted to be accessible for adults with learning
disabilities.
The LYL course was well
received during the COVID-19
pandemic and supported
25 graduates during 2020 and
2021
Due to high demand, the LYL
ran 3x in 2021
"With the course I have
learned a lot about the
boundaries and how to
set them.
I recognise my
limitations and can tell
people what they can
expect from me.“

Live Your Life &
Let’s talk about sex
Let’s Talk About Sex Course
Our 6-week Let’s Talk About Sex (LTAS) course creates a
safe space where members can speak about sex openly,
ask questions and discuss topics around sexuality with their
peers and listen and support each other.
This course promotes self-love and pleasure as a way of
knowing one’s own body.
90% LTAS participants said it is
important to have safe space
to talk openly about sexuality
LTAS course gives access
to knowledge that helps
our members make safe
choices.

Hybrid world
Our organisational culture encourages an environment of
innovation. Whilst we are a reflective organisation, we are
also dynamic and quick to adapt. We listen to the needs
of our members and this was perhaps demonstrated most
clearly by our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within a week of lockdown we had an online offering and
moved all of our events and opportunities online. Since
then we have had our most successful two years as an
organisation - both in terms of attendance and in terms of
the personal development of our members.
While some were able to access the benefits of our online
offering, 73 % of our membership was not seen online due
to the various barriers of entering the digital realm.

What happened to the
73%?
We recognise that for some of our members, online
participation simply does not work and others need more
time before they can join social activities.
Out of 73% (642 members), our staff spoke with 212 people.
Whilst 21 people decided to cancel their membership or
have sadly passed away, staff recorded 105 members and
86 carers / parents responses. With these conversations we
have learned that:
1. The newsletter is reaching our members - 194 (94,2%)
said they receive the newsletter
“It makes me feel like I am still part of get2gether and I
2. Contact was not possible with 191 members (20% of
total membership) due to change in phone numbers.
3. Ambassadors made further contact with 45 members,
who had accepted our offer to receive a phone call from
one of our ambassadors.
enjoy it!”
“The newsletter sometimes inspires him to do things
independently. For example: get2gether advertised events
which he went and do with his support staff,
but joining in with people would be next step for him.”

The future is
accessible.
In this uncertain climate, we will continue to adapt to the
world around us and ensure our members can gain the
skill to adapt and get the most from the changing
landscape around them.
Thanks to all our funders and supporters who have
helped us achieve our aims in 2020 and 2021.
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