Oxford City Council helps young people to speak

up about the preventable death of Connor

Sparrowhawk.
The Oxford based charity My Life My Choice, run by and for people with learning
disabilities has received funding of 10,000 fro Oxford City Council!s "outh
#bition $und to help increase the power and in%uence that young people have&
The oney will be used to support young people to produce a short 'l about
the life and death of Connor (parrowhaw), a young an with learning disabilities
who died of preventable causes whilst under the care of (outhern *ealth at The
(lade in Oxford& Connor!s Mother (ara +yan, who along with her faily will
advise and support on the a)ing of the 'l, said ,we!re delighted the city
council have funded this pro-ect& .e recently et with soe of the young people
who will be involved and their interest in Connor and concern about what
happened to hi was very oving& .e loo) forward to seeing the 'l which
we!re sure will be brilliant&/
Technical and studio support is been given free of charge by local 'r Oxford
0igital Media& 1xecutive 2roducer, 3aes Toalin said ,by a)ing a 'l about
the events surrounding Connor4s death, we hope to raise awareness so that
these tragic circustances are never again repeated& .e also want to celebrate
Connor4s life and to a)e sure that the voices of the young people fro My Life
My Choice are placed wholly and s5uarely centre stage in this debate&/
Leader of the Council, 6ob 2rice who was a colleague of Connor!s father +ichard,
said ,the City Council!s "outh #bition $und was created to support pro-ects that
o7er young people real opportunities to develop their s)ills and creativity, and to
a)e a contribution to the lives of other young people& This 'l about Connor
will enrich our understanding of the issues and probles for young people with
learning disabilities, and the urgent need for society to develop and resource
better care and support structures& 8 a delighted that My Life y Choice has
ta)en this initiative&/
#ndrew (ith M2 for Oxford 1ast added ,8t will be a wonderful coeoration
of Connor!s life if the young people a)ing this 'l can cast light on the needs
of learning disabled people in care and bring it hoe to people how awful
tragedies li)e Connor!s preventable death can be avoided in future&/
The young people a)ing the 'l eet on a onthly basis at the 1ast Oxford
*ub in Cowley& #nybody interested in being involved in the a)ing of the 'l or
in attending the onthly self9help group should phone the My Life My Choice
o:ce on ;01<=>? @0A@1A and as) for #lex or e9ail
alexbroo)sBylifeychoice&org&u)
The charity!s youngest Trustee, @> year old Toy Owen9Lovegrove fro Cowley
said ,this is a fantastic opportunity for young people with learning disabilities
around Oxford to get to have a strong and e7ective say in their counities&
.e want to a)e a di7erence and we want Connor to be properly reebered&
Than) you to Oxford City Council and to Oxford 0igital Media for their generous
support&/