About the project

Being Warm Being Happy (BWBH) was a collaborative project to find out if people with learning disabilities can keep themselves warm at home.

It might go without saying that being warm at home is important. If you can keep your house warm, then it can help keep you well and happy.

The research received funding from EAGA Charitable Trust. This project was split into 3 parts:

Part 1

In part 1 we worked with 10 adults with a learning disability. We measured the temperature in their homes and asked them about how they keep their homes warm.

Questions included what makes them feel warm or cold at home, how much gas or electricity they use and how they pay for their energy and about who they contact to get help if they need it.

Part 2

The second part of the study looked at the findings from two large surveys conducted in England:

• The English National Housing Survey
• The Understanding Society Survey

We focussed on:

• Homes where an adult with a learning disability lives
• Homes where people with other disabilities live
• Home where people without a disability live

We compared both surveys to see whether people with a learning disability are more at risk of being cold at home or struggling to keep a warm house.

Part 3

For the third part of the study we held workshops to share the findings from parts 1 & 2 of the study.

We invited adults with learning disabilities and those working in housing, health, social care and energy. Together we developed ideas to help them keep their houses warm throughout the year and get support when they need it.

The BWBH project came up with ideas which were developed by a later project called ‘Prioritise Me’. Prioritise Me was led by Speakup Self Advocacy Limited, a registered charity which is run by and for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Speakup gives people with learning disabilities and autistic people a voice, employment opportunities, and makes sure that they are valued and included in society (An evaluation of ‘Prioritise Me’).