Getting Involved and Having Your Say. |
Want to share something? Got a link to a good resource? Heard about an event? Please get in touch and let us 'pass it along'. |
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The Government has announced the introduction of a new medical assessment for Disability LIving Allowance (DLA) for working-age adults. DLA is a benefit paid to disabled people who have personal care or mobility support needs. From 2013 everyone seeking to use DLA will have to go through the new assessment. Mencap is concerned that some people with a learning disability will not continue to receive DLA. Mencap are carrying out an online survey to find our about how people with a learning disability use their DLA. They want to show the Government how important DLA is to people with a learning disability. To tell the Government how you use your DLA fill in the Mencap surveyonline. |
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The Changing Places Consortium has launched a campaign on behalf of the thousands of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their carers, and the many other disabled people who cannot use standard accessible toilets.
They need Changing Places toilets. These are toilets with enough space for disabled people and their carers, and the right equipment, including a height adjustable changing bench and a hoist. There are almost no public Changing Places toilets in the UK. Providing these toilets in public places would make a dramatic difference to the lives of thousands of people who desperately need these facilities. Sometimes you just need to change one thing to open up a world of possibility. The time for change is NOW. Local action on Changing Places toilets As Changing Places campaigners know, supermarkets are a key place where the provision of Changing Places toilets could change lives. If big supermarkets provided Changing Places toilets, disabled people who need them, and their families, could enjoy going shopping, having lunch and plan days out, just like anyone else. The Changing Places Consortium and local campaigners have approached a number of leading supermarkets to ask them to consider installing Changing Places toilets. We are delighted that Asda have designed a Changing Places toilet with a view to installing one as a trial in a new store. However Asda have reported that they can only take this step if they know that there is demand from their customers for Changing Places toilets. Download the Local Action Pack and find out how you can get involved in the Changing Places Changing Lives campaign.
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Voting in Elections - Your right, Your choice Two years ago Spiral Skills Advocacy Service asked the Electoral Commission for some money so we could talk about voting in elections.
We learnt some very interesting things and met some interesting people from all around Northumberland. We didn't have our website back then, but we thought you might like to read some of the things people had to say on the day: We talked about registering to vote. Betty said, "I didn't know you only had to be 18 to vote, I thought you had to be 21". Some people didn't know if they were registered, and didn't know how to find out. We talked about how sometimes staff and carers didn't include us when they filled in our registration forms.
We found out that some people didn't know that registration forms would be arriving in the post. This meant if they didn't arrive they would not know about it. Lesley told us her mum would find out. Everyone said that from now on they would ask if they were not told they could vote. At the end of our day together we decided: People need to offer the right kind of support. This means including us, it doesn't mean doing things for us or without us. People should always use easy to understand words and pictures. This helps everyone to understand what is happening and to get involved. "Politicians should listen to our questions and what we think about disability issues. Because we're the ones that use services, so that makes us the experts".
Politicians need to be clear about what they will do. "Politicians talk about war too much. They should talk more about disabilities" "It's important to know who your MP is and how to contact them. We need to let them know what we want from the from the people who represent us. That way they will know what we expect from our MP, and that we will check that they will fight for the things that are important to us when it's time to use our vote"
Do you know who your MP is? Do you know how to contact them? Your MP and how to make contact |
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