My friend and colleague Lorraine Watkins, who has died aged 59 after suffering a heart attack, was a stalwart campaigner for other people with learning disabilities across South Wales and beyond. In 1998 she was a founder member of the self-advocacy organisation Torfaen People First (TPF), in which she held many key roles over the years.
The third of six children of Gilbert and Belinda, Lorraine was born in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire. When she was 12, her family moved to Wales and Lorraine went to boarding school in Bridgend, then attended a succession of education and training centres run by social services. She stayed with her sister, Cheryl, after the death of their parents and then, having honed her independent living skills, moved into a group home with three other women.
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