HEAR US HEROES

Wednesday 4th March 2026 | Meeting Notes 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

📅 Wednesday 4th March
👥 64 people attended

 

👋 Welcome

• • Victoria Braithwaite welcomed everyone.
  • She introduced Patrick Leatherd, who led the meeting.

 

🎤 What happened at the meeting?

Patrick said we would hear from:

• • 🎶 Purple Patch  – singing and Makaton
  • 🚕 Blackburn with Darwen Council – Taxi Licensing
  • 🚒 Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service

 

🎶 Purple Patch Performance

• People from Purple Patch sang a song called “Our Big Family.”
• They also used Makaton signs 🤟
• It was fun and everyone joined in at the end 😊
• Patrick thanked Purple Patch for coming.

 

🚕 Taxi Information

• Dave Stamp could not come to the meeting.
• Simon Davey came instead.

Simon told us about private hire and Hackney taxis.

Important information

• From 1 January 2026:
• New taxi drivers must do Disability Awareness Training ♿
• Current drivers will do the training when they renew their licence.

Taxi safety

Taxi drivers must:

• Have an Enhanced DBS check ✔️
• Wear an ID badge 🪪
• Have a licence plate on the vehicle 🚕

Mystery shopping

• Victoria asked if Hear Us Heroes could do mystery shopping for taxis 🕵️
• Simon said Victoria should email his manager to ask.

People asked lots of questions, and Simon answered them.

Patrick thanked Simon for coming.

 

🚒 Fire Service Talk

• Samantha Baron from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service spoke to the group.

Fire Service support

The Fire Service can:

🏠 Do a Free Home Fire Safety Check

• Test your smoke alarms
• Check escape routes

🔔 999 Reunite Bands

These help keep people safe.

They can be:

• A wristband ⌚
• A fob 🔑

The band can include:

• Your name
• Contact details
• Important medical information

This helps emergency services contact your family or carer if needed.

The Fire Service can visit your home and explain more.

🔥 Fire safety equipment

• The Fire Service can give some free items to help prevent fires.

⚠️ The Fire Service does NOT provide:

• Telecare systems
• Vibrating pillows
• Flashing lights

These are provided by the Council.

 

🎭 Drama Club

Victoria talked about a new drama group:

Heroes Unmuted – Our Voice, Our Story, Our Stage

Who can join:

• Adults with
• Learning Disabilities
• Autism
• Neurodiverse conditions

📅 Starts: 8 April
🕙 Time: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
📍 Weekly on Wednesday for 13 weeks

Important:

• You need to attend at least 80% of sessions.

You can also help with:

• 🎭 Props
• 👗 Costumes
• 💄 Make-up

There will not be a session on the first Wednesday of the month because of the Hear Us Heroes meeting.

 

🧩 Autism Awareness Week

Victoria asked for ideas for Autism Awareness Week.

At the next meeting on 1st April, we will do something big and fun 🎉

Ideas suggested

• 📝 Write a poem about Autism
• 🎵 Write a song about Autism
• 🧘 Seated yoga

 

💃 Spring Ball

Lucy Hamlin shared news about a Spring Ball.

🎉 To celebrate 10 years of Meet N Match

📅 Friday 22nd May
🕖 7pm – 11pm
📍 Accessible venue in Manchester

Transport support may be available 🚆

There was a sign-up sheet for people who might need:

• Help travelling to the event in Manchester
• A chaperone on the train

 

🙏 Thank You

Patrick thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

 

🗓️ Meeting Information

📍 Hear Us Heroes meetings are on the first Wednesday of every month
🕚 Starts at 10.30am (please arrive at 10:15am)

🗓️ Next date
👉 Wednesday 1st April 2026

✅ Upcoming Dates:

• 6th May
• 3rd June
• 1st July
• 5th August
• 2nd September
• 7th October
• 4th November
• 2nd December

Visit our Hear Us Heroes main page

Click here to find information on our new Hear Us Heroes Mystery Shopping Group