The services TACT deliver reflect personal need. The people we support are encouraged to know their part, be actively involved and know the difference they can make. Kim who is supported by TACT has taken on the challenge; "I help others to get their point of view over, I have help set up a local forum so people who TACT support can tell them what is good and bad. Twice a year we meet as a national forum to speak about things."

Local forums meet regularly and are planned and run by the people we support. Local forum members report to TACT local boards and issues are brought to the national forum. The Britannia Forum has a voice nationally reporting to the TACT main board.

The Britannia forum gives people we support a voice and the ability to shape their own lives. It creates positive choices by making their needs understood, representing their views, and ultimately lead society towards recognising disabled people are equal and valued citizens with the same choices and opportunities as everyone else.

Rugby Inclusion Project - TACT South and West (Herefordshire and Shropshire)

The Rugby Inclusion Project is a partnership project involving TACT, The Rugby Football Union, The English Federation of Disability Sport and is receiving funding from the Active Sports Community Fund.

This exciting and innovative rugby project was launched in Herefordshire and Shropshire in May 2003. Its aim is to bring life-changing opportunities to people with learning disabilities within the local community.

The project supports the creation of new sustainable learning disability sections within pilot clubs such as Telford Hornets in Shropshire, Hereford RFC and the Greyhound in Herefordshire, with many other clubs feeding into the project. We also support the formation of both junior and senior sections working in conjunction with the Active Sports Program, targeted at the grass roots level and as part of the local rugby community.

People with learning disabilities get few opportunities to participate in sport. This project has opened the door to a world of inclusion, increased fitness, self-belief, team involvement, wide ranging social opportunities, a chance to compete - all of the benefits usually associated with involvement in sport.

Partnerships between special schools, County Councils, local rugby clubs and the RFU have been forged. Now the project has four club leaders who ensure that introductory sessions held at local schools and colleges are active, purposeful, enjoyable and safe. Weekly training sessions and tournaments are held at local rugby clubs.

Tag rugby is a safe, fun and exciting variation of non-contact rugby. Players wear tag belts around their waist and two Velcro tags are attached at the hip. Tag rugby can be played with as few as five players. Most importantly, it is a fun and exciting game that both male and female players of all ages and abilities can enjoy.

New links have been forged with rugby's premiership and TACT believes that rugby inclusion has a great future and will build on recent success. Already the project has expanded to South Ayrshire in Scotland.

conTACT Supported Employment Service - TACT Home Counties

conTACT Supported Employment Service works with individuals who want to work for just a few hours a week, who need support whilst at work, or who want to give something back to their community by volunteering rather than attending day services. Everyone has a skill and something to offer. Just one hourÕs work a week for someone who has never worked before makes a real difference to their life: a sense of responsibility, increased self esteem, confidence, a feeling that their skills are being used, improved social skills, and of course, financial rewards. Employers and colleagues get to know an individual and hopefully develop an understanding of disability, changing their perceptions. conTACT has received funding from i-work, funded under EQUAL, a European Social Fund initiative, a lottery Community Fund grant, Garfield Weston Foundation and The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund.

Englefield Garden Centre - TACT Home Counties

Englefield Garden Centre operates as a social enterprise, priding itself in producing many varieties of plants and garden accessories for sale to the general public. People we support access the site for horticultural therapy, training, work experience and paid employment. We also offer arts and crafts, music and computer sessions on the site.

HIP Hockey (Hockey Inclusion Project) - TACT South and West (Gloucestershire)

HIP Hockey (Hockey Inclusion Project) promotes inclusion of people with disabilities. Wheelchair users, non-wheelchair users, disabled people and non-disabled people participate together. Zone hockey, an adapted version of hockey, is played at the sessions. It is an opportunity for people to play and socialise together. The project introduces new friendships and natural support whilst improving fitness, mobility, self-belief, teamwork and most of all, confidence. HIP Hockey has received funding from Awards for All and Barnwood House Trust.

SCORE - TACT South and West (Herefordshire)

SCORE enables individuals with significant learning disabilities to participate in sport, the arts, leisure, training, voluntary work, employment and social enterprise within their communities. The project shapes itself to the individuals involved and follows them along whichever pathway they wish to take, providing support, guidance, friendship and trust. The key to its success is partnership between us and those we work alongside.

The Taking Action Forum - TACT South and West (Gloucestershire)

The Taking Action Forum promotes self-advocacy and is open to anyone who receives support in Gloucestershire. It is a meeting for action not talk. Each meeting focuses on important issues decided by forum members, including training, transport, the NHS, and the Disability Discrimination Act. An elected delegate from this local forum represents the region at a national TACT forum twice a year. The project is funded by Stroud Town Council.