Listening Month 2022 – thank you for your support
Sight Loss Councils (SLC) and Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) would like to thank everyone who got involved in Listening Month 2022 and helped make it a huge success.
Throughout November, Sight Loss Councils and Thomas Pocklington Trust have been asking blind and partially sighted people across the country what matters to them.
The aim was to reach and listen to as many blind and partially sighted people as possible, whilst raising awareness of Sight Loss Councils and their work.
The centrepiece of Listening Month was a national survey. This was joined by wider events and activity across the country.
Through a programme of in-person and online activities and events across the country, as well as our keystone national survey, more than 1,000 people have taken part in Listening Month. This makes it SLC and TPT’s largest outreach campaign ever.
The survey and feedback from other events and activities, will be drawn together into a TPT report that we will use to inform our future campaigns and work. In addition, TPT will share your feedback with other organisations, and government and partners.
Key highlights
Here’s a few highlights of SLC events and activity as part of Listening Month.
- Sight Loss Councils from across the country attended national online forums run by Thomas Pocklington Trust to feed information into this research on a regional and national level.
- Sight Loss Councils promoted our national survey and worked with sight loss charities and groups in their region to listen to the views of blind and partially sighted residents. This includes but was not limited to East Sussex, Northumberland, London, and Tyne and Wear.
- We ran a social media campaign and created short videos to promote Listening Month, using our hashtag #ListeningMonth2022 on social media.
- Merseyside Sight Loss Council ran a series of five drop-in events for local residents
Over 30 blind and partially sighted people sharing their views at our Listening Month drop-in event in Halton
- Bristol and Gloucestershire Sight Loss Councils ran a joint Listening Month forum a joint forum on 30 November 2022 to listen to people’s views. They also shared support available to residents to help with the cost of living.
Alun Davies, Engagement Manager for the South West, talks to attendees ahead of the cost of living VI Forum.
- Essex Sight Loss Council held a forum on 25 November 2022 to ask people across their region what matters to them. This was alongside providing an overview of support available from local sensory services.
- West Yorkshire and York Sight Loss Councils held a joint forum on 24 November, called ‘Enable us to enable you’. Here, they discussed a wide range of issues about what matters the most to local residents.
Iain Mitchell, Senior Engagement Manager for the North, opening the ‘Enable us to enable you’ Listening Month event at Bedern Hall in York.
- London Sight Loss Council attended South-East Sight Village on 8 November to speak to local blind and partially sighted residents. This was alongside attending local events.
London SLC members Vicky and Steve, with Senior Engagement Manager Lucy (centre) at the Sight Village event
Thank you
Thank you to all our Sight Loss Council members for all your support.
Mike Bell, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns at Thomas Pocklington Trust, said:
“We would like to thank everyone who participated in Listening Month – not just those who submitted their views, but those who shared this with friends and contacts too. We’d also like to thank our colleagues at Thomas Pocklington Trust and Sight Loss Councils who led the way during Listening Month by organising and hosting events, reaching out to sector partners and for their tireless efforts to make sure the voice of blind and partially sighted people is heard.”
Although Listening Month has now formally ended, there is still time to fill out the national survey by clicking the link below.
Complete our Listening Month survey
Publication date: 06 December 2022