The Cedar Foundation User Forum: Making a Positive Difference

Cedar’s User Forum has local groups in Ballymena, Belfast, Downpatrick, North Down & Ards, Enniskillen, Foyle and Newry. Our aim is to be the voice of our Service Users province wide and create an inclusive society for all.

All of us at Cedar were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Paul. He made an enormous contribution to our work and the lives of people with disability. Paul joined the Cedar User Forum in 2012 and became Chairperson of the Ballymena forum in 2013 and Regional Chairperson in 2014.

During his time as Chairperson Paul fulfilled many responsibilities including playing an integral part at Cedar’s AGM. He played a pivotal role in representing Cedar and the voice of our service users through many consultations, most notably the Department of Health consultation that lead to the development of the NI Physical Disability Strategy.

Paul took great pride in his position, he recruited and inducted new members to the forum and spoke passionately about forum work. He was a true advocate, actively supporting individuals, to ensure their voice was heard. Always engaging and practical, such as helping residents at Karuna to complete their service user satisfaction survey, making sure everyone had their say in the way we work.

All Cedar staff, Executive Board and User Forum are deeply appreciative of the contribution Paul made to Cedar and the User Forum. The strength of the Forum today reflects his hard work and dedication.

He will be sorely missed by all who knew him, our thoughts are with his family and friends all at this sad time.

Stephen Mathews

Chief Executive Officer

The Cedar Foundation

 

We are focused on making a positive difference to the lives of people with disabilities. We want to empower disabled people to influence and inform services that will support them to live fully inclusive lives. We are person centred, approachable and supportive of all who use our service.

The forum is made up of Cedar Service Users who are prepared to challenge poor practice and seek service improvements. To achieve this we consult and communicate with Service Users, management, staff and external agencies. If you would like more information please email: [email protected].