The court film is about young people with a learning disability and how they handle going to court and the criminal justice system. Raising Your Game staff learnt that young people needed this from their work with young people. The film is for young people with and without a learning disability between the ages of 14 and 25 who are going to court. Many issues are shared in the film. The film tells their experiences in their own words. 

We made the film because we have also found that professionals within the criminal justice system (CJS) saw that young people needed more support. 

My role on the film as a whole was the advisor and making sure the other actors were not nervous. I did not have to do much because the other actors were not nervous. I sat in on the meetings about the making of the film and behind the scenes. The first meeting I went to about the film was with Katy, the marketing officer and the filmmaker Anne, to talk about the first steps of making it. I went to nearly all the meetings and the meeting when the animator came. It was interesting. I gave advice on the court room scenes, like looking at some cartoons with scenes in court and how we could do something similar. The court film was good fun to make. My role as an extra was good because I was only in one scene; the waiting room scene, where you look at your watch on the mobile phone as if you’re in a waiting room, waiting, and I was asked to go into the toilet as if someone was walking past, but I had to go to the toilet anyway!  

Outdoor filming for My Safe Life

Last week I did some filming with Mencap about *My Life; My Safe Life. I spoke about my experiences about being safe so everyone knows what to do when they want to know about being safe. I talked about looking after your money when out on the streets; it doesn’t matter if you’re on your own or with your friend’s just try to look after yourself.

 I also talked about people that can help you to be safe like your mum and dad or brothers and sisters, boyfriends girlfriends, fiancés, best friends, pets (like guide dogs) police, work colleagues, social workers, they should be people you can trust, like your best friend. A spoke about mate crime, mate crime is somebody that you think you can trust but they take advantage. That friendship comes to a full stop. 

*My Life is Mencap’s consultation on ways of looking at the areas of life that people with a learning disability and their families said were really important. Each My Life looks at particular issues affecting people with a learning disability and their families at different times in their lives. For more information visit http://mylife.mencap.org.uk/