AS part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Carlisle Mencap has produced a short film – Our Lives Now And Then – that will be launched on Wednesday, December 19.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery and featuring children from Carlisle Youth Zone with support from Eden Films, the film will be first shown at a special launch ceremony at the youth zone in Victoria Place, Carlisle, on Wednesday from midday to 1.30pm.
Through dance and movement, the film portrays the history of people with a learning disability in Cumbria and the way they have been treated, including how in the early days they were sent to a hospital “that felt more like a prison”.
Sheila Gregory, the CEO of Carlisle Mencap, said: “The film is sensitive in how it tackles some of the darker parts of the history of how people with learning disabilities have been treated in the past. Thankfully that is very much in the past. The children who appear in this film have been very creative in the way they have told the story and the film is both poignant and informative and is a very fitting contribution to this, our 50th anniversary year.”
Carlisle Mencap is a local charity set up in 1968 and we have over 150 members and provide services for more than 500 people with learning disabilities and their families across Cumbria. Our services include short breaks for adults at California House and for Children at the Grace Little Centre, children’s home based respite, community support, young people’s clubs and holidays, family support workers for young people with autism, holidays, leisure activities and befriending. We also have respite centres for children in Penrith and Ulverston, plus autism help groups in Kendal and Workington.