Choices Waves podcast Surrey Voices

The new podcast, Surrey Voices, which is written and produced by disabled people, launched in March 2022. The show discusses disability issues and the achievements of people who are supported be Surrey Choices. Colleague Adam Hutchings helped create the podcast and shares his experience in this interview.

What is Choices Waves and the new podcast that has recently been launched? 

Choices Waves is an exciting broadcasting station that supports people to learn skills for employment. Staff do this by creating podcasts and music shows to be broadcast on the Choices Waves Mixcloud. 

In ‘Choices Voices’ we get opinions of people we support, based on questions that our listeners send it. For example, do disabled people see people like themselves on TV? Or does pineapple belong on pizza? In ‘Above and Beyond’ someone says thanks to a person or place which regularly helps them in their daily life.  

What have you covered so far and what are you planning to cover in future?  

The first episode followed Luke from the Growth Team as they did conservation work there. The second episode tied in with Stress Awareness Week and we talked to Phil Mack, who is a Mental Health First Aider about stress. 

For future episodes, we plan to cover one customer who is a stand-up comedian, another who helps in a food bank, a rock band made of disabled people, and the benefits of laughing yoga. We’re also planning to follow some people we support as they do the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and coincide episodes with Awareness Weeks such as Shared Lives Week in June. 

Is there co-production with people we support and how? 

Yes, we involve the people we support in all aspects of production. Finding interviewees, conducting interviews, researching topics and chasing down contributors –lots of soft skills. Also, learning the software which we use to produce the podcast, as well as developing skills used in audio recording, editing and mixing. 

Tell us about the skills people we support are learning working on this podcast? Could it help with finding employment? 

Soft skills, teamwork skills, technical skills, also building confidence and communication skills. 

How do you see the podcast progressing? 

Over time we plan to explore many issues which we think are important, and tell the stories of great achievements at Surrey Choices. Our customers will become increasingly involved in putting the podcast together, so that it truly has their identity in every episode.

You can listen to all the podcasts here