It is sometimes hard for people who don’t have a learning difficulty to understand what life would be like if they had to cope with this challenge themselves. And as Lifeways service user Adrian Taylor puts it: "For too long people who have learning difficulties have been silent about the lives they live. We are qualified to have that voice. We are no different from anyone else - we can feel hurt, have feelings of like and dislike and want to have friends."
Since the Government published its document ‘No Secrets’ back in 2000, the tragic problem  of abuse in the lives of individuals with a learning difficulty has received renewed emphasis. Lifeways has always taken proactive steps to ensure that abuse never happens to service users they support, and continues to look for innovative ways to further prevent the problem and empower people.
   As an example, last year, a group of thirty Lifeways service users from the Nottingham area decided that they would like to explore the topic of abuse in their self-advocacy group. Sue Houston, Lifeways Regional Manager, responded by inviting Helen Laverty, Health Lecturer at the University of Nottingham, to act as an independent facilitator and work alongside her. Over a number of sessions, Sue and Helen provided support and encouragement to the group to take their project in any direction they chose. As time went by, they moved from telling their own stories of past abuse to developing a project that is designed to help prevent abuse of other people with learning disabilities. Speaking on behalf of the Lifeways service users, now known as ‘Champions’, Adrian describes here what happened:
   "We started by looking at what abuse is. Some of us felt brave enough to tell our stories of previous abuse in words and pictures. It was nice to know that we were not alone. We agreed to work together as a team with the support of Lifeways to develop our ideas into a training pack on the prevention of abuse. To begin with, four of us would learn how to be champions for people with learning difficulties, especially those who cannot speak up for themselves. We want to explain what abuse is and how it affects the way we live our lives. Our message is about keeping safe and helping others to be safe. It is important to remember that abuse prevention training is not about secrets, it is about respecting each other and showing the world what a positive partnership is all about. It is also about acknowledging that family members and carers have the right to live a life free from abuse too."
   The Champions designed and developed a training pack on abuse prevention for people with learning difficulties and care staff. The pack includes pamphlets, posters and T-shirts. Lifeways contributed funds to produce these materials for the Champions and also provided funds for the development of a facilitator’s manual and slide show, to guide others in facilitating similar projects for people with learning difficulties which was written by Helen Laverty and edited by Catrin Glynn of Lifeways. Net proceeds from the sale of all materials go to the Champions to support them in their work helping vulnerable people to speak out, keep safe and advocate for themselves and others.
Perhaps most significantly, this initiative has prompted the Champions to be trained as trainers. They are now ready, willing and able to deliver training in best practice on the subject of abuse not only to direct care staff, but importantly, to other people who have a learning difficulty.
   In April, some of the Champions had an opportunity to showcase their work at a major conference, ‘Positive Choices’, held at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. They chose the title ‘Living a life that is free from abuse’ for their 40-minute audio-visual presentation, which they delivered to an audience of 400 key policy makers, education planners and disability care professionals from throughout the UK