‘I felt very isolated’: Man with cerebral palsy helping disabled people overcome loneliness

A man with cerebral palsy who struggled with social isolation during lockdown started his own social enterprise to help disabled people overcome loneliness.

This disability history month – from November 16, to December 16 – David Bourroughs, 39, from Sydenham, Lewisham, is raising awareness of the loneliness many disabled people face.

He said: “Throughout the pandemic and lockdown I felt very isolated and I knew there must be other people like me who felt the same.

“The pandemic has finished but people still feel lonely, and disabled people are much more likely to suffer from loneliness.”

According to Sense charity, in 2021, 70 per cent of disabled people reported that social isolation had affected their mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic, with two in five reporting an impact on their physical health.

Mr Bourroughs, who has a First Class BA Honours degree in advertising and digital marketing communications from the University of Greenwich, founded a buddying scheme for disabled people – Buddies For All – in 2021.

He said: “We pair them up with volunteer buddies so they can meet for coffee, go for a walk or to the cinema or a sporting event. 

“The meet ups can be on the telephone, via video or in person. Whatever their goal is, we want to help.”

Buddies For All supports people with physical, sensory and hidden impairments.

Mr Bourroughs was born with cerebral palsy, and has always used a wheelchair and had a speech impairment, he has also recently developed hearing loss. 

He said: “Everyone with cerebral palsy is affected differently. I can’t do some things other people can, I can’t be a builder and I can’t play football but I can pretty much do anything else.”

Mr Bourroughs said his childhood was quite traumatic. He said his cerebral palsy would tighten up in his legs and arms so he underwent numerous surgeries to try and get him to straighten his legs in the hope he would walk.

He said he also found school difficult. He first went to a special needs school but was told by a teacher that he would be better suited to a mainstream school.

He said: “My parents fought for me to get into a school in Blackheath – it was the only school at the time that was suitable for someone in a wheelchair.

“But the transition between the schools was hard. Disabled people struggle in a way with being socially connected to people who are not disabled.”

Mr Bourroughs said he hopes to move Buddies For All towards a peer buddying model.

He said: “So a disabled person would be a buddy to a disabled person. I think because disabled people just understand what another disabled person goes through on a day to day basis.

“And I’m happy I have been able to do that. I feel I can really help because I have that lived experience – it’s really important to people.”

Recently, Mr Bourroughs has been awarded £10,000 by the National Lottery Community Fund to continue this work.

He said: “I’ve wanted to prove to myself that I can run a successful business and I can.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life, but I’m at a place now that I’m able to understand the barriers disabled people face.”

Pictured top: David Bourroughs next to his poster for the Business & IP Centre’s local in Lewisham (Picture: Sadie Pattison, one of the buddies who volunteers for Buddies for All)