We are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £60,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project discovering and recording the history and stories of people with learning disabilities in Solihull.
The project, called “Hidden Lives Remembered”, has been made possible by money raised by National Lottery players and over 18 months will see people with learning disabilities finding out about the lives and experiences of those who until 30 years ago had lived most of their lives in long-stay hospitals and residential homes with little contact with the wider community. The project will focus on 2 institutions, Middlefield Hospital and Hampton Manor, and will look at the journey that former residents took from institutionalisation into community living.
The project will provide an opportunity for people with learning disabilities to discover more about their own heritage and how the lives and experiences of others have shaped their own lives today. The project will produce a digital archive of oral history recordings, videos and images which will be freely available to the public. There are also plans to produce an exhibition and some original drama which will be written and performed by SAtA’s AdvoActs drama group. There will be plenty of opportunities for the public to engage with the project as well as to volunteer.
Check back later for more news and updates as the project continues.
We want to thank National Lottery players and the Heritage Lottery Fund for supporting this project.