Briallen’s Journey with FTWW

I started volunteering with Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales towards the end of last year and became a Volunteer Champion for Understanding Disability earlier this year. I am a wheelchair user and live with chronic illnesses, so I am extremely passionate about FTWW’s goals of campaigning for healthcare equality and supporting people living with long-term health conditions and impairments.

I started volunteering with FTWW because I was frustrated with the lack of support and resources available for people living with long-term health conditions. When I was diagnosed with my chronic illnesses, I didn’t receive a lot of professional support or advice. I found it difficult to find resources that were relevant and helpful, especially resources that were created by people living with the same conditions as me. I wanted to help create the support that I needed when I was first diagnosed, and volunteering with FTWW has allowed me to do this.

Since I started volunteering with FTWW, I have supported their work through a variety of engagement opportunities, including surveys, meetings, and focus groups. I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to the development of the self-advocacy toolkit, their work on the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment, and a number of other important topics.

As a result of volunteering with FTWW, I have been able to contribute to work on the topics that I am passionate about. Living with chronic illnesses can be difficult; you can often be made to feel powerless, and seeing frequent negative content about chronic illness and disability can be disheartening and upsetting. Volunteering with FTWW gives me the opportunity to challenge this. It allows me to express my opinions on the things that matter to me in a way that can make a real difference.

Volunteering with FTWW has been extremely rewarding. Everyone involved is incredibly supportive and understanding of my conditions and access needs, which is what makes volunteering possible for me. Meeting other people living with similar conditions has helped me to feel less isolated, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to be part of their work on supporting people living with long-term health conditions.