Over the past 12 months, Dynamite has proudly teamed up with Sarah Lehmkuehler and her fantastic team from Election Services to co-produce an Easy Read guide about your right to vote.
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The idea for the guide came from conversations within the Dynamite group, where young people spoke about wanting to better understand voting — how it works, what their rights are, and how they can make their voices heard.
Together with the Election Services team, the group helped design and review the guide to make sure it was clear, simple, and genuinely accessible for everyone.
The finished guide breaks down everything you need to know about voting, including:

• How to register to vote
• What to expect when you go to a polling station
• How to use your vote safely and confidently
• What your rights are if you need support to vote

For many of our members, taking part in this project was an empowering experience. By helping to create something that supports others, they also built their own confidence and understanding of the voting process.
Several young people have said that after working on the guide, they now feel more comfortable and ready to vote in future elections — something that previously felt confusing or intimidating.

This project shows the real power of co-production: when young people with lived experience are listened to, supported, and involved, they can help make information more accessible for everyone.

We’re incredibly proud of everyone who took part and of the positive impact this guide will have across our communities.

👉 Click here to view the Easy Read Voting Guide:
Accessible Voting Guide (PDF)

Dynamite first met with Lydia Doyle, Occupational Therapist from Solent NHS CAMHS, in September 2024 to look at the CAMHS Learning Disability Service leaflet and explore how it could be improved to make it more accessible for everyone.
Over the following year, Lydia worked closely with Dynamite members through coproduction, regularly attending monthly meetings to gather feedback and test out new ideas.

In September 2025, after 12 months of coproduction, Lydia returned to present the final version of the leaflet to the group. To mark the achievement, she also presented Dynamite with a thank you certificate, recognising their vital contribution in shaping a clearer and more inclusive resource for young people and families.
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This project has shown that coproduction is a fantastic way to move projects forward, ensuring resources are more effective and accessible. Following the success of this coproduction, Solent NHS CAMHS have already returned to Dynamite to begin work on a new project together.

In early 2025, Dynamite met Ashley at an events day held at Highbury College. Following this introduction, Ashley has become actively involved with the group, contributing to local events and taking part in co-production meetings.
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Ashley has reflected on his experience of joining Dynamite and has shared how being part of the group has had a positive impact on him both personally and socially. Ashley’s reflections highlight the value of Dynamite in creating a safe, welcoming, and empowering environment for young people. His story demonstrates how Dynamite supports members to build confidence, develop social skills, and feel a strong sense of belonging within their community.
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"I’ve been at Dynamite for about 2 weeks and in that 2 weeks I have learnt a great deal from Michelle and the Dynamite group. 

I was first introduced to Dynamite and Michelle at college where they spoke about Dynamite and from that day when we spoke about it and the way they spoke about it, it made me want to come as they described Dynamite in a fun way. 

I liked the aspect of what they do, because the people there work together to help shape services in Portsmouth to ensure they are accessible and inclusive to help people understand of people with disabilities. I think after that I really wanted to join, I got in contact with Michelle and after I left college it, I joined Dynamite.

My first meeting was at make and I met Michelle directly there. This was also the day where I started meeting other members of Dynamite that are members and volunteers. The one member who stands out to me is Steven who is a volunteer He has been there for a couple of years, and he was very welcoming. So, me Michelle and Steven met a gentleman from Hive named Tony and he was talking about youth clubs and how they can be more accessible to everyone in different age ranges such as 14-16yrs and then 16-25.  

My second meeting Michelle invited me along to help represent Dynamite we went to the Charles Dickens Centre (PYC) Who is a youth club, and they wanted us to do a young inspection there to make sure it was accessible to everyone.  

The third meeting was with the King's Theatre I went along with Michelle again helping to represent dynamite and we talked about making the theatre more accessible and less scary and explaining their character to the audience and showing them that everyone is safe just in general just connecting as a person and not a character so it builds connection to the people who may not understand that they are not just characters that are playing. 
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 In my short time at Dynamite, I have not only started to build confidence, but I have met a lot of new people I finally feel like I belong somewhere this group has helped me a lot in so many ways from, building up my confidence to talking to the members of the public Since starting Dynamite I have felt more confident in myself and most importantly I feel like I belong there everyone is so welcoming and it’s something I am proud to be a part of."