South Hams District councillors Victor Abbott and Nadine Dommett visited Dame Hannahs recently.

Following an earlier visit, they returned to meet some of the young adults and to join in with the Voice Group.

Both the staff and adults had some really good ideas on how to make Ivybridge more accessible which they wanted to share.

The councillors were really interested and left with plenty of good ideas to take to their next council meeting.

Dame Hannahs Registered Manager, Cassie Short, said “After the councillors’ first visit, I went round the staff and adults on site to ask if they had any ideas to make Ivybridge more accessible.

“They came up with some really good points, so I thought Voice Group would be a good opportunity for them to get their ideas heard by people who could potentially make changes.

“When Victor and Nadine visited, I invited them to the group and they welcomed the idea.

“The session was really positive and the councillors went away with lots of ideas to bring to their next council meetings.”

Dame Hannahs Speech and Language Therapist, Baukje Gregory-Schroder, said “We were delighted to welcome the councillors and to be able to facilitate the meeting by using visual support to communicate our young adults’ thoughts and opinions.

“The councilors really listened and interacted with our young adults.

“All in all we felt that it was a really positive session.”

Dame Hannahs has been enriching the lives of children and young people for over 250 years.

Based in Ivybridge and one of the UK’s oldest charities, Dame Hannahs is dedicated to empowering young adults with a range of disabilities.

They are committed to challenging societal beliefs surrounding disabled people with the aim of making disability incidental.

Their mission is simple: to empower, advocate and enrich the lives of young adults with disabilities.

Their vision is to live in a society where people with disabilities experience the same opportunities, train, learn and live.