Features / Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2025
Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2025, Day 1: West of England Centre for Inclusive Living (WECIL)
In a busy, fast-paced world where everyone is striving hard to make their own way up, a disabled people’s user-led organisation (DPULO) in Fishponds is championing support, kindness and the pathway to inclusive living.
West of England Centre for Inclusive Living (WECIL) is a charity for and by disabled people, who are working together to challenge barriers to their independent living.
Through information and advice, peer-support projects, young people’s services, volunteer-led programmes and more, WECIL hopes to support disabled people to “live a life they choose”.
Access All Areas is WECIL’s annual festival held to encourage making the city more inclusive
“We understand that everyone’s needs are different,” said the charity’s team on their website. “As a user-led organisation, we know the benefits of individual, bespoke support and we are committed to doing our best to find that for you.”
Founded on the principles of disability justice and the social model of disability, WECIL has been working towards challenging restrictions and changing “the possibilities for disabled people” in the South West since 1995.
In the charity’s impact report for 2024-2025, the chair of the board of trustees, Ruth Pickersgill said: “Twenty-five years ago, I wrote in WECIL’s annual report that ‘user involvement’ often felt tokenistic, with disabled people invited to sit on committees without real power.
“I argued then that WECIL was different: controlled by disabled people, based on a true disability equality perspective.
“Today, the language has shifted to ‘co-production’, but the reality has not changed enough. Disabled people remain largely absent from positions of power in councils, the NHS, and Parliament.
“At WECIL, we are proud that the majority of our Board are Disabled people and that we have created new pathways for service users to take seats at the table.”
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75 per cent of the board members at WECIL are disabled people, with the charity actively recruiting disabled people for all its paid roles. The charity recognises “lived experience” as the most valuable qualification for “understanding and addressing” the challenges disabled people face.
Every service offered by WECIL has been created by and for disabled people, with the website also designed in an easy-to-navigate format. Anyone who approaches WECIL for something new or who is unsure what they need will be led to one of the charity’s navigators, who will work collaboratively towards “finding solutions”.
Anyone who wishes to use WECIL’s services or know more about it can head to their website or contact the charity’s team at [email protected] or 0117 947 9911
All photos: WECIL
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