Our Story
Your Support Matters YSM was established by William Case, who saw a gap in the support available to disabled people. The organisation grew from the learning and experience William gained through his Churchill Fellowship in 2011.
You can read more about William’s Fellowship on his dedicated Churchill Fellowship page.
When the organisation was established, we created an advisory committee made up of people with lived experience of disability and people working within the field of social care. The committee helped to establish the groundwork and direction of Your Support Matters and appointed William Case as Chief Executive.
We began by advocating for disabled people to have greater choice and control over their personal budgets and direct payments.
Our Journey & Milestones
2017
Foundation of Your Support Matters
Your Support Matters was established by William Case, who saw a gap in the support available to disabled people. The organisation grew from the learning and experience William gained through his Churchill Fellowship in 2011.
You can read more about William’s Fellowship on his dedicated Churchill Fellowship page.
When the organisation was established, we created an advisory committee made up of people with lived experience of disability and people working within the field of social care. The committee helped to establish the groundwork and direction of Your Support Matters and appointed William Case as Chief Executive.
We began by advocating for disabled people to have greater choice and control over their personal budgets and direct payments.
2019
Researching Personal Assistant pay in Bury
In 2019, we undertook unfunded research into the differences in pay for Personal Assistants employed through personal budgets in Bury.
We raised our findings with local MPs, decision-makers and the local council. This work helped to secure an increase in the Personal Assistant rate in Bury and supported the establishment of a pay scale that better recognised the important role of Personal Assistants.
2020
Supporting people through the COVID-19 pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we received funding from the Churchill Fellowship.
This allowed us to carry out research, provide check-ins and deliver online training for disabled people and Personal Assistants. The training covered areas including how to be a good employer and how to recruit and work with a Personal Assistant.
We also produced a report for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. This explored the gaps in support that became more visible during the pandemic, while recognising that many of these challenges had existed long before COVID-19.
Following the pandemic Sharing our learning
Following the pandemic, we continued to share our findings and lived experience through guest lectures at universities, including Manchester Metropolitan University and Edge Hill University.
We also trained social workers within one locality in Greater Manchester. We continued to work with social workers to develop their knowledge and skills around the social model of disability, personalisation, person-centred thinking, choice and control.
Throughout this period, Your Support Matters worked with disabled people and organisations nationally to promote personalisation.
Our work has included partnerships and projects with organisations such as Skills for Care, In Control and other organisations working across health and social care.
Building community advocacy
2023
In 2023, we delivered a project for the disabled community, funded by the National Lottery.
Through this work, we advocated alongside families in Bury and Rochdale to help them have greater choice and control over their children’s social care support plans and education plans.
The project built on our community advocacy work, helping families to have their voices heard and play a greater role in decisions about their children’s support.
2023
Raising awareness of Hate and Mate Crime
In 2023, we also delivered the Hate and Mate Crime project for disabled people in Bury, funded by Bury VCFA
Through this project, we raised awareness of hate crime and mate crime affecting disabled people. We advocated alongside disabled people to help ensure their experiences were heard, their rights were recognised and they were better supported within their communities.
2023
Establishing the first Your Support Matters Board
We established the first Your Support Matters Board.
The Board brought together people with lived experience and people with professional experience across health and social care, administration, recruitment and finance.
We now have an established Board with a good mix of lived and professional experience. The Board has been working alongside us to develop and shape the next stage of the organisation’s journey.
Our recent work
We have been involved in a three-year partnership with the NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Social Care, led by the University of York and its partners.
We have continued to develop community projects that raise the profile of Personal Assistants and disabled people within their communities.
We have also continued working with individuals, families, professionals and organisations to strengthen personalised support and help disabled people have greater choice and control over their lives.
Our journey is continuing What happens next?
The history of Your Support Matters is still being written.
Our next journey will focus on strengthening the organisation, developing new partnerships and continuing to influence the future of social care.
We will continue to create opportunities for disabled people and Personal Assistants to share their experiences, develop community projects and influence the policies and decisions that affect their lives.
Our work will continue to be led by lived experience and shaped by our commitment to the social model of disability, personalisation, person-centred thinking, choice and control.
John O’Brien, a pioneer of person-centred planning, worked alongside Beth Mount to encourage people and organisations to ask an important question
“What more is possible?”
This question will continue to guide the journey of Your Support Matters. We will keep listening, learning and exploring what more is possible for disabled people, Personal Assistants, families, communities and the future of social care.
Our journey continues, and we look forward to sharing what happens next.
