In the photo left to right: Sarah French, CEO, Sense Ability Matters; Mark Richardson, Community Voice participant; Danny Hall, Community Voice participant; Ed Turnbull, Community Voice participant; Catherine Stocks, Funding Officer, The National Lottery Fund; David Woolley, CEO, Your Voice Counts.
Local charity Sense Ability Matters (SAM), in partnership with Your Voice Counts, has secured over £460,000 from The National Lottery Fund to continue and expand its highly regarded Community Voice project over the next five years.
The Community Voice project has already supported nearly 800 people since 2021, providing opportunities for people with sensory, physical, and learning disabilities to connect, develop confidence, and have their voices heard. Thanks to the new funding, the project will now enter its second phase and support over 1,280 people across Gateshead and South Tyneside between 2025 and 2030.
Community Voice will continue running group activities co-designed by participants. It will focus on improving individuals’ emotional wellbeing, reducing loneliness, and supporting disabled people to challenge barriers and influence local services and policies through a new co-production hub.
Sarah French, Chief Executive of Sense Ability Matters, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to have received this support from The National Lottery Fund. Community Voice is about ensuring people who are often overlooked have the opportunity to shape the world around them. We know the difference this work makes — from tackling loneliness to helping people feel confident and heard. With this new funding, we can continue building on what participants have already achieved, and create even more connection, self-advocacy and change.”
The project was officially launched at a celebratory event today, attended by project participants, staff, volunteers, and representatives from the National Lottery. One participant of the project said;
“My wife and I both agree that I was suicidal after my sight loss and if it wasn’t for the intervention of Sense Ability Matters I wouldn’t be here. Attending SAM groups has given me a different perspective on sight loss and the way others cope, making me feel I’m not alone”
Community Voice is delivered in partnership with Your Voice Counts, and supports people with sensory impairments, learning disabilities, mental health challenges, autism, and other long-term conditions. It builds on a participant-led model that encourages shared learning, collaboration, and positive change in the wider community.