THE Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Social Care will be dropping in to see the work being done at Chepstow Mencap’s new state-of-the-art building tomorrow (Thursday, September 22)

It is one of 25 network partner groups within the national Mencap Cymru and has operated for more than 50 years with many of the original members still involved in the society.

Chepstow Mencap, which provides a range of services to people with a learning disability and their family carers, had outgrown its building at the Berkley Centre and after many years of fundraising (over £1.4m raised), bought and refurbished its new home at The Old School Board in the heart of Chepstow.

But with the move came the devastating news that many people with a learning disability whom they supported pre-covid would not be returning.

Deputy Minister Julie Morgan’s visit will be an opportunity to meet with the trustees, volunteers, staff and people they support in their new Bridge Street base to hear how Covid has impacted on the work they do.

She will also be able to join a soft launch of a new partnership project between Mencap Cymru and Chepstow Mencap called Citizen Curators.

Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project will work with Mencap Cymru groups in Chepstow, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion to train people with a learning disability and their supporters to curate, exhibit and archive the histories of people with a learning disability and their family carers. Mencap Cymru is sadly aware that many of the parent pioneers (often mothers) are passing away (Mencap is 76 years old this year) and the organisation wants to ensure that the stories of these early pioneers and their legacy are kept for future generations.

The visit will take place between 10.10am and 11am and will include a tour of the building and its resources, meeting staff and people who use the day service.

Ms Morgan will be able to listen to people’s experiences during covid and how the group continued to provide support for people in Chepstow.

She will also join parents and people with a learning disability who are there to launch the Chepstow element of Citizen Curators Project in the main function hall, with an opportunity to say a few words about the new Action Plan and celebrate the achievements of parent campaigners who developed so many opportunities for people with a learning disability out of the All Wales Strategy.

Meanwhile, Mencap Cymru, together with its partner groups, are calling on the Welsh Government to ensure that local commissioners do not reduce the support offered to people with a learning disability as they come out of covid and try to re-connect with friends.

Through the Wales Learning Disability Helpline, they are hearing of families desperate for day support to return, they say.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Chepstow Mencap supported 58 individuals and provided 1,162 care hours of support each week.

But they now currently support 38 service users and provide around 320 care hours of support each week.

During lockdown, the main commissioning authority advised them that they would no longer support those who lived in residential, supported living or shared lives settings.

Most of those individuals have not returned to the service and many other service users are receiving reduced support compared with that supplied pre- Covid.

One parent says her daughter has lost more than half her support post covid-lockdown.

More information about Chepstow Mencap can be found at www.chepstowmencap.co.uk/