Gig Buddies is a project which links adults who have a learning disability to a volunteer who has similar interests in music, or other events, to go out together. The project coordinators are currently looking for people who would like to join Gig Buddies in the East Sussex area and are particularly looking for volunteers in Rye.
Gig Buddies aims to ensure that people with learning disabilities don’t miss out on evening social activities, such as gigs, clubbing or theatre. The project helps to combat social isolation faced by many people with learning disabilities, by enabling people with a learning disability to make friends with other members of their community who have a similar interest to them.
Through matching people together based on their leisure activities Gig Buddies hopes to create sustainable and genuine community networks for people who may otherwise feel disconnected from their local community.
The project grew out of local Sussex charity Stay Up Late. Stay Up Late started as a national campaign to ensure that people with a learning disability receive support that doesn’t stop at 9pm – some care homes have inflexible staff rotas, which mean that many adults with a learning disability can’t access practical support to go out in the evenings. Since it was established four years ago, it has spread across the UK and even to Sydney, Australia.
The project has already linked more than 90 people in Sussex to a volunteer Gig Buddy. Gig Buddies attracts people of all ages and all types of musical taste – from heavy metal to musicals, indie to club nights. One Gig Buddy volunteer, James, said: “Through volunteering with Gig Buddies I have experienced some amazing moments like going to Glastonbury festival, making some great friends for life and meeting celebrities.”
Gig Buddies has some brilliant people involved in the project, such as the only qualified ping-pong coach with Down’s syndrome in the world. Through recruiting in East Sussex it hopes to meet more people in the area who would like to join the Gig Buddies project. They reimburse volunteers’ expenses and ask that Gig Buddies meet up about once a month.
Paul Richards, director and co-founder of the charity said: “The charity was set up as a response to seeing people with learning disabilities being denied the sort of social opportunities that many of us take for granted. To see how the project has now grown, with so many people benefiting from it, is a dream come true and we’re keen for many more people to benefit.”
For more information contact:
Harri Oliver harri@stayuplate.org/ 07827228171
Kate Ogden kate@stayuplate.org / 07514622204
Or see our website: www.stayuplate.org
Photo: stayuplate.org