Our Values - Merton Centre for Independent Living

Be Welcoming

This means being friendly to you when you come to see us or call us.

It means we will try to help you feel comfortable and we will be positive and do our best.

This means we will put you first and we will take an holistic, whole person approach.

We will use active listening to find out what you want to do and we will try to support you to make the choices that you want!

We will be there for people across the full spectrum of disability, no matter who you are or where you are from, across all strands of diversity.

This means that no one gets special treatment, and no one gets worse treatment because of who they are or who they know.

We will always try our hardest to get things right, but no one is perfect.

If things go wrong, we will try to learn from that and do things better next time.

We will take an evidence-based approach to our work.

We are a user-led organisation.

That means we are run by, and for, disabled people.

We believe that our shared experience means we can support you better.

We will show empathy for what you are experiencing.

This means we don’t judge you. We don’t do sympathy because it is judgemental.

We work within the social model of disability, not the medical model.

We are passionate about supporting you to stand up for your rights.

We will challenge discrimination.

We will support you to say what you want and need.