Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
Your Voice
“The place for disability information in Shropshire”
Shropshire Disability Network – Charity No 1148256 – Jul-Aug 2019
Friendly invitation to try sitting volleyball Telford Eagles Sitting Volleyball Team is inviting disability groups in Shropshire to try this exciting and fully inclusive sport in a fun and safe local club environment. It is looking to involve as many people as possible. The Eagles are part of Telford Volleyball Club. They train 6pm-7pm on Thursday evenings in S Block at Telford College (TCAT), Haybridge Road, Wellington, Telford, TF1 2NP. Note that there is no training in the school summer holiday. To find out more, please contact the Eagles’ Coach, Paul Twitchell, by emailing [email protected] or calling or texting 07854 056 639. You can visit the club’s website too: https://telfordvolleyballclub.weebly.com . Paul is also the Club Welfare Officer. He says, “I can offer assurance of a positive experience for players of all abilities and disabilities. I only ask for people who require specialist care to be accompanied for safety reasons.”
SDN is happy to have already linked up a youngster with this friendly club.
2
I
Dear Members, I hope you have all enjoyed some of the sunshine. Summer is here and this means SDN is looking ahead to its Annual General Meeting in September (details overleaf). I regret to inform you that after 4 years as your Chair, I will be stepping aside for health reasons. This will provide an opportunity for someone to promote the strategic direction of SDN, and build on the solid foundation that has been created. I have been involved with SDN almost since its inauguration in May 2008. I have seen SDN develop and progress. However, any organisation needs to evolve to continue its existence and changes need to happen to encourage this. I would like to thank everyone for the help they have lent to SDN, and I hope each of you reading Your Voice will seriously consider whether you or someone you know is the person to lead us to the next level or to give time to SDN in some other way. Ann, our current Secretary, has been in her role for 3 years. Due to her work commitments, she will also be standing down. Both Ann and I will be continuing our roles with Safe Places Shropshire, which SDN runs. With this newsletter, you will find copies of the role descriptions for Chair and Secretary and a nomination form for places on SDN’s Management Committee. Volunteering can be a very positive experience. SDN recently received this message, “It is services like yours which help my elderly parents, who despite their long-term conditions are still fiercely independent, to cope in their own home. Many thanks for your assistance. Keep up the good work!” By helping SDN as a volunteer, you will meet many interesting people. You will help to keep Shropshire on the disability map, as few counties have such a charity. In addition, you will expand your knowledge on all aspects of disability and caring. I hope to welcome you to our AGM or to prior events. We will be at Oswestry CultureFest on 17th August and at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford on 30th August. For an informal chat about volunteering, please call or text SDN on 07780 852 229.
Best wishes, Ruby
Chair’s message | Shropshire Disability Network
3
Shropshire Disability Network (SDN) AGM and Members’ Meeting
10.30am-1pm, Thursday 5th September 2019 University Centre, Guildhall, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury, SY3 8HQ SDN welcomes its members to take part in its Annual General Meeting, followed by a talk on ‘accessible nature’ by SDN Member, Ellie Forrester. Come and learn all that SDN has achieved in the past year, take part in the elections of the management committee members, and help to ratify the annual accounts. VISS will provide British Sign Language interpreters. Thank you to the two eloquent speakers at SDN’s Members’ Meeting in Oswestry in June. Our host, Vicky Handbury-Madin, head of The Movement Centre, talked about the centre’s specialist physiotherapy – Targeted Training. Vicky described how this helps children with movement disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, to develop life-changing skills, such as the ability to control their head, to sit, to crawl, to stand or even to walk. The centre, which is a charity, also helps families to find the funds needed to deliver this specialist therapy, which is outside standard NHS provision. Lindsay Barton from Shropshire Providers Consortium (SPC) talked about diversity and inclusion in everyday life, and about SPC’s purpose as a collective of grassroots, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations. Many of SPC’s members provide services relevant to people with disabilities. SPC supports its members to collaborate on the delivery of these services, on the development of funding bids and on the measuring of social impact.
Vicky, The Movement Centre Lindsay, Shropshire Providers Consortium
Thank you also to DeafBooks for providing SDN with a helpful sheet of its LET’S SIGN British Sign Language graphics to share with our members.
4
New patrons fly the flag for SDN
It was fantastic to have Jess Noel-Hiles and Paul Bryce serving together for the first time as patrons of Shropshire Disability Network and Safe Places Shropshire at the See and Hear Shropshire Exhibition in May. Readers of Your Voice will be familiar with Jess and her fundraising activities for SDN and more. Jess says, “I am really excited to be your patron, thank you for having me. I will do my best to help SDN in any way I can, to talk about the work you do. I am so proud to be your patron and so happy to work with the lovely Paul.”
Paul is equally happy to be collaborating with Jess. He says, “It is an honour to become a patron of SDN. I will do my bit to promote the heck out of the charity. People need to know more about what SDN can offer.” Paul has been blind since birth. He is a qualified radio journalist. Alongside his freelance work, he volunteers to present ‘Bizarre News’ for RNIB Connect Radio in a segment which goes out every Monday afternoon. Paul also serves as a trustee for the Birmingham-based Disability Resource Centre, a charity run by disabled people, for disabled people. Tune in to Connect Radio You can listen to RNIB Connect Radio through your television on Freeview channel 730, or through the pop-up Radio Player on Connect Radio’s website, https://www.rnibconnectradio.org.uk/ . You can also listen through your smartphone, by downloading the Radioplayer app on the Radioplayer website, http://www.radioplayer.co.uk/ , or by using the internet-based audio service, TuneIn, via its website, https://tunein.com/ .
5
Explore Bridgnorth burial ground with an ecologist Shropshire Disability Network (SDN) members are invited to visit Bridgnorth Cemetery as part of The Beautiful Burial Ground Project, which is run by the charity, Caring for God’s Acre. This is your chance to find out about the plant- and wildlife in this local burial ground. You will be amazed at what you can see in a small area of land. An experienced ecologist will be on hand to point out everything to you. The Cemetery dates from 1850. It is a beautiful sandstone area which has been designated an area of Special Scientific Interest. Around 120 species of wild flowers can be found on this site. Photo credit: Bridgnorth Town Council
The visit is set for 1pm-3pm on Wednesday 4th September 2019. To sign up, email [email protected] or call/text 07970 816 030.
Let’s get techy The TECHSevern event will take place at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th September 2019. Tuesday is for professionals and Wednesday is for the public.
The event will bring together representatives of local government, business, academia and the voluntary sector. Participants will reveal the opportunities technology offers in the areas of health and care, including assistive technology, housing and construction and sustainable energy. The TECHSafari on the Wednesday will take the form of drop-in surgeries, especially aimed at people with disabilities, older people and carers. Here, experts will give help with aspects of everyday technology like: how to download various apps safely, how to order food shopping online, safer online banking, getting more use out of mobile phones, and more. For further details, please contact the organisers at Shropshire Council by emailing [email protected] or telephoning 01743 251 636.
6
Debate over disability access in Shrewsbury
The charity Shopmobility Shrewsbury reached the difficult decision to close in June 2019, citing a fall in demand for its service and a lack of funding. The closure was subsequently brought forward to the end of May. Shopmobility is a scheme which hires out manual wheelchairs, powered wheelchairs and powered scooters to members of the public with limited mobility to enable them to shop and visit leisure and commercial facilities within the town, city or shopping centre. According to its latest accounts, in the financial year ending 31 March 2018, Shopmobility Shrewsbury was largely funded by a grant from Shropshire Council as well as by hire fees. Shropshire Disability Network (SDN) received the following letter from one of its members in response to this closure and other developments. We have permission to share it. We decided not to disclose the author’s name.
“I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes politically in Shrewsbury, but I get the distinct impression that Shrewsbury Council wants to drive out disabled people. The latest traffic restrictions in Pride Hill and Butcher Row are an illustration.
I was just wondering whether SDN had any ‘voice’ when the Council pulled the funding for Shopmobility in Shrewsbury. This service is needed for Shrewsbury, not only for residents, but what does it say about us as a town to visitors and tourists that we have no Shopmobility, it does not encourage the less mobile to visit our lovely town and spend money, therefore boosting the local economy. Just look around at the empty shops.
I have travelled around quite a bit, and I must say, some areas/towns of the country very much impress me with their attitude to the disabled. Stratford-upon-Avon has free parking including free on-street parking. I’m not for free parking myself just because I’m less mobile, and think that I should pay like anyone else, but it is refreshing when you see things like this and it makes you feel welcome. Scotland, as well, seemed very ‘switched on’ to the needs of the disabled in many aspects, I was well impressed when I spent a holiday up there with the facilities that were available and accessibility was not a problem, even in the most remote of places. Sorry to rant on, but I think it’s about time we had better parking and facilities to give a more welcoming feel to our disabled visitors.”
7
Shropshire Disability Network (SDN) is pursuing its communications over the Shopmobility scheme in Shrewsbury with Shrewsbury Town Council, Shropshire Council and Shrewsbury Business Improvement District (BID). SDN has also responded to a letter in the Shropshire Star of 19th June from Mr Hewitt from Newcastle-under-Lyme, who used to enjoy visiting Shrewsbury but has been “at a loss” since Shopmobility closed. He points to the removal of the parking concession as a factor in falling demand. Here is SDN’s response, as published in the Shropshire Star of 29th June...
“Shropshire Disability Network (SDN), a local charity, is saddened to read the letter ‘Missing my Shopmobility’. Mr Hewitt will be one of many people affected by the loss of this facility. We are concerned that very little has been published in the media about the closure and people seem to be reluctant to speak out about the lack of/loss of much-needed facilities.
We understood the closure of Shopmobility was scheduled for 30th
June. We were surprised to learn that, for whatever reason, it actually shut on 31st May.
Over a year SDN gets many enquiries from people requiring a mobility scooter/wheelchair when visiting the county town of Shrewsbury. Not everyone has their own transport and many people do not have their own mobility scooter.
Shrewsbury has so much to offer and needs to be more inclusive. There are many events throughout the year that people like to come to, the Shrewsbury Flower Show is but one. Many visitors relied on Shopmobility for these visits.
SDN has contacted various organisations, i.e. Shrewsbury BID, Shropshire Council and Shrewsbury Town Council, to ask about future plans, but to date we have received no responses.
If you are affected by the closure of Shopmobility Shrewsbury, we would like to hear from you. People can do this in several ways. Complete this online form, https://shropshiredisability.net/contact/ , email [email protected] , or call or text 07780 852 229. This is the SDN mobile phone. We are all volunteers. If there is no answer, you can leave a message for us to call you back. Ruby Hartshorn, Chair, Shropshire Disability Network”
8
The Complexity of it All In relation to disability diversity, inclusion and access to churches there are currently two very different discussions: Healing and cure – spiritual healing / acceptance – physical healing and cure and Relationship and Community My interest has been in the latter and their link with the Environment and facilities i.e. the understanding of the RELATIONSHIP between participating and sharing in worship and meetings, the link with the Environment and facilities within which these take place and disabled people. All in relation to: RELATIONSHIP and COMMUNITY Using prayer to facilitate change Using discussion to facilitate change OR a mixture of both In the Equality Act 2010, disability is different from other Protected Characteristics. Compared with other non-disabled characteristics, acceptance not only requires a change of attitude, it also requires practical or physical change. Anticipating Reasonable Adjustments involves time, effort and money. Reasons why church communities have been slow to change:
• Relationships within Community are prioritised over adapting church buildings
• Lack of a distinction between maintenance and adapting a Community building to enable disability diversity, inclusion
9
• Practical issues within management organisations around discussions involving several groups; understanding access issues, finding solutions to them and acting upon them.
It has nearly been 10 years since the Equality Act 2010 There has been time for ideas and plans for ‘accessible’ church to develop and evolve into ‘diverse’ and ‘inclusive’ church. An opportunity has been missed to make changes at a time when there was a little more money. Every Church Community has a different building, meeting environments and facilities. The challenge in 2019 is in beginning and encouraging specific, collective, ongoing conversations around disability, access and use of facilities. Identifying reasonable adjustments to environments and their facilities for disabled people that support participation and sharing in worship and meetings, all in relation to RELATIONSHIP and COMMUNITY. Phil Ramsbotham
Email [email protected] , telephone 01743 240 465
Phil explored these themes and more in a compelling speech to a full house at Shropshire Disability Network’s Members’ Meeting in March. Do you have suggestions for speakers for SDN’s quarterly meetings? Would you like to contribute an article or photograph to Your Voice? Do get in touch with your comments and ideas, using the contact details on the back page of this edition.
Many thanks to SDN Member Gill Miller, who contributed the wordsearch puzzle to the May-June edition of Your Voice!
10
Keeping safe
The first joint conference of Shropshire’s Adults’ and Children’s Safeguarding Boards happened last year. SDN then started publishing related articles. Here is the next one in the series…
Cuckooing – Are you living next door to drug dealers? Cuckooing is a form of crime in which drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person in order to use it as a base for drug dealing. The vulnerable person may be lonely or isolated. As of the 2010s, cuckooing is becoming an increasingly common problem. The crime is named for the cuckoo’s practice of taking over other birds’ nests for its young. West Mercia Police are committed to tackling people who are involved in drug supply and drug use in our communities. Information from members of the community can often be the key to success in arresting and convicting drug dealers. It can be used to support warrants for searches where the police seize and destroy drugs. Please report any suspicious activity in your area to the police by calling 101 (always call 999 if a crime is in progress). You should include a description of the people visiting, the times when they are visiting and the vehicles they are using. But please do not put yourself in danger. Officers will then gather evidence about your report. If drug-related issues have occurred more than once, please tell the police when you make your report. Please provide details of other times when this has occurred. If you don’t have details of the suspect, you can still report the incident to the police. If you think of any information at a later date that could help the police investigation, please let the police know. Remember, if you have any information about the supply of drugs, call the police on 101, or remain anonymous by speaking to the independent charity Crimestoppers: call 0800 555 111, visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org. If you have any concerns regarding this article, please contact Shropshire Disability Network (SDN): call or text our Secretary on 07970 816 030, email [email protected] .
11
HIDE returns to Telford The Hidden Illnesses and Disabilities Exhibition (HIDE) will take place at Meeting Point House, Southwater Square, Town Centre, Telford, TF3 4HS from 2pm to 4.30pm on Thursday 12th September 2019. Admission is free. HIDE raises awareness of long-term health problems and disabilities which are invisible – these could be physical, sensory or communication-related. The event is run by Deaf ‘N’ Able; email [email protected] . It is an opportunity to meet the volunteers who run various support groups across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. Shropshire Disability Network will have an information stand at this exhibition – extra hands are welcome!
Sunflower ribbon takes root Sainsbury’s has been trialling the Sunflower lanyard scheme and plans to extend it to all of its stores soon. Customers with hidden disabilities can collect a lanyard, which acts as a discreet sign for supermarket staff that they may require additional help. The scheme started at Gatwick Airport and spread to other airports too. The lanyard is a stylish green neck ribbon adorned with yellow sunflowers.
Blue Badge scheme embraces less visible disabilities People with hidden disabilities like autism and mental ill health will be able to apply for a Blue Badge parking permit in England from 30th August 2019. Changes in the rules mean that people will be able to apply who have: “…an enduring and substantial disability which causes them, during the course of a journey, to –
(i) be unable to walk; (ii) experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may
include very considerable psychological distress; or (iii) be at risk of serious harm when walking; or pose, when walking,
a risk of serious harm to any other person…”
12
At Shropshire Disability Network we appreciate our supporters who advertise on our website
Driving Miss Daisy has recently renewed its advert online. The company can be contacted by telephoning 07458 012 648 or 0333 014 6211 or by visiting https://driving-miss-daisy-telford-and-wrekin.business.site/ .
Collections in support of SDN Thanks to the kindness of Morrisons Oswestry and its customers, SDN’s bucket collection in the supermarket in July raised a wonderful £179.35. This result also relies on our volunteers gifting their time. Could you help SDN for an hour or two at our next collection in the Darwin Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury between 10am and 4pm on Friday 16th August?
SDN Disclaimer: Shropshire Disability Network (SDN) seeks to be “the voice” for disability information in Shropshire by using two prime tools – this newsletter and our website, https://shropshire-disability.net/. Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those held by SDN or anyone connected with it. SDN does not endorse commercial products or services, any mention is for information only. If you have a problem with the content, please contact us via [email protected].
Facebook /ShropshireDisabilityNetwork and /SafePlacesShropshire
Twitter @ShropDisNetwork and @SafePlaceShrops
Website https://shropshiredisability.net/
To submit items to Your Voice, email
or write to SDN, C/o 26 Aldwick Drive,
Radbrook Green, Shrewsbury, SY3 6BN.
Telephone or text SDN on 07780 852 229.
