Claire Morgan 20/03/2026 Member StoriesNews

This is my first diary update with the AWPF Member Stories project. 

Hello from sunny Glasgow!

I’m actually a member based in Scotland so although I’m a full member, I can’t vote at the AGM or stand for the National Council because I don’t live in Wales.

I got involved with all things Welsh through Gig Buddies.  During Covid, Gig Buddies Scotland and Gig Buddies Cymru were hosting online events and they joined up for a crazy Friday night session!  That’s how I got to meet a lot of the Welsh members of AWPF such as Simon, Nicole and Ffion.  Simon told me about an online New Year’s Eve party run by Innovate Trust on their Insight App, so I joined that too!

Now I do loads with the Insight App – I’m a Peer Led Team Member and I arrange all the different online sessions for Insight.  We’re doing a Neurodiverse Coffee morning this morning to celebrate Neurodiversity week.

We’ve provided over 300 hours of volunteering so far this year to the Insight app.  I am paid for 5 hours per week, but we always do more than that.

I’m also an Ambassador for Stay Up Late.  This is a national campaign which was established by a band of people with a learning disability to encourage people with learning disabilities to stay out late and to lobby support agencies etc to make provisions for this to happen.  So many people can’t stay out after 9 pm because their support staff need to get home, or the supported accommodation won’t allow it.  My role as an ambassador is to write to agencies and lobby them to allow their residents to stay out late

I live with my mum and dad but I’m quite independent. I travel around a lot on my own – I love going out for food into Glasgow city centre or popping on the train to Edinburgh.  I’m a big fan of Tapas and Welsh cakes.  You can’t get Welsh cakes in Edinburgh, but someone’s sent me a link to a shop that sells them and will post them to me.

I’m registered as visually impaired so I have a bus pass and a train pass.  I spend a lot of my time volunteering online but I do like to get out and about too and most of the volunteering tends to be in the evenings. Because of my sight problem, I don’t go out if it’s icy underfoot though.