One Voice - action for disability
Welcome to your summer newsletter!
This month we welcome Sue W back—she has written an article about the doll wars(!), We have a stand-in Cassandra rapping about access, other access news, articles on deaf fest, access to the emergency services, parking, and rather a lot on sport—well it will soon be the Olympics plastered across our televisions and newspapers, so we’ve got some disability related Olympics stories for you. There is an invitation to attend a presentation on the DisabledGo website, and say whether you think it has been of use.
Also check out the article about the education debate, it includes the chance to become a One Voice blogger and get your views out to the world!
If you want to contribute to the newsletter—as editor or by writing, drawing or taping an item or article, contact us and let us know.
The deadline for the next newsletter is August 10th
The views in this newsletter are those of the article writers, they are not always what One Voice thinks.
Everyone present agreed the One Voice AGM went very well, and it was nice to see some new faces.
Access Officer Paula Lewis talked about access projects she was working on and got disabled people’s advice and opinions. We were invited to several project meetings including the interchange project, Bilston Town Hall, and the Archives Library.
There is also an invitation to a presentation of a Wolverhampton Access website on the back page of the newsletter
People at the AGM also enjoyed the chairobics—its good to exercise, and people found it fit fun! We can send a handout of the session to people who want it. We will be putting a visual guide (with photos) on our website next month.
Cassandra is on holiday, so we have a guest Cassandra this month, who has some bones to pick about access issues:
The smartening up of town Centres can make no-go areas for disabled people.
Disabled people’s groups in Wolverhampton are not alone in their opposition to cobbles and slippery surfaces being used when town and city centres are being refurbished.
Disabled people across the country say the same things because lack of accessible parking, lack of colour contrast, use of cobbles, use of surfaces that are slippery when wet – these things are always problems for disabled people, wherever they are.
In Wolverhampton we have had a bit of a compromise – cobbles have been replaced in some of the walkways, and the outdoor surfaces aren’t slippery when wet – they are the same colour as bollards when wet though, so that makes a whole new hazard. And the plans for the city centre, the transport hub etc, all involve fewer blue badge parking bays, and more paying for parking – as if using our cars is a choice we make rather than a necessity.
The council at Caernarfon is also under fire from disabled groups for reducing parking spaces and using cobbles and lack of colour contrast, despite objections raised by disabled people. Just like Wolverhampton the Council officers have taken the position that they consulted disabled people and made some adjustments.
Of course disabled people say that the adjustments are not enough to get rid of the problem.
It seems to me that we are only going to get rid of this problem of planning apartheid when someone takes a council to court under the Disability Discrimination Act – then Councils and disabled people across the country will both be aware of just how much equality disabled people are allowed to expect when it comes to freedom of movement, freedom from pain, safety etc.
And now for something about ASDA – do you know that ASDA is the only supermarket that consistently clamps and fines non-disabled people who use the disabled parking at their stores – good for ASDA.
Also although they have those horrible revolving doors in the Wolverhampton store, they always keep the swing door at the side open. This is a legal requirement according to the Fire Safety Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act, so why is it we have to tell shops this – oh I know, it’s because the Disability Discrimination Act only comes into play when a disabled person takes a case against a company not doing what they are supposed to. And there aren’t many of us with bags of money and energy lying around to see a case through.
Maybe that is why more that 12 years after the Disability Discrimination Act so little has changed.
The opinions in this article are what stand-in Cassandra thinks, they are not necessarily the views of One Voice.
The guide book company Rough Guide have teamed up with motobility to produce a new book called The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain.
The Rough Guide people are known for their honest and unvarnished approach, and this slim volume is no exception, providing a guide to 100 accessible days out across the UK, with accurate information on accessible parks and gardens, cities and towns, galleries and museums, seaside attractions, heritage sites, outdoor and sports, scenery, wildlife, and what it calls family fun which includes widely diverse “fun” like Alton Towers and Beatrix Potter world.
The guide has location maps, access symbols for each attraction as well as information on opening times, etc. All the attractions have been tested out for access by the people who compiled it, and they give information about the access limitations as well as accessible facilities
Motability talked to their customers and people from disabled rambler groups to come up with a list of the important information disabled people need when panning a daytrip.
The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain costs £6.99 p&p; Blue Badge holders can obtain a copy for £1.99 post &packaging cost.
To order call 0800 953 7070 or visit www.accessibleguide.co.uk
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Parking seems to be the subject of the moment in Government circles.
According to the audit commission there are more than two million Blue badges in circulation in England, which is more than three times the number being used 20 years ago. It may be because more people drive, or more disabled people are driving for longer that there has been such an increase, but abuse of Blue Badges may also have a part to play: 16,000 of those badges being used at the moment are in the names of dead people.
Meanwhile the Transport Select Committee report into the Blue Badge Scheme says that whether you can get a Blue Badge may depend on where you live. Transport Committee Chair Louise Ellman said: "The parking needs of people with disabilities must not be decided by what is effectively a postcode lottery. There must be greater consistency in the way in which the eligibility criteria for blue badges are applied across the country, and those who use stolen badges must face the consequences. This is a fundamental matter of fairness."
The Committee wants people with degenerative conditions not to have to reapply every 3 years. It wants others to reapply every year so that people with temporary conditions can have Blue Badges for the short time that they need them. They also state that eligibility should be based on something wider than an ability to walk, so that people with other impairments such as bowel disease can be included.
Tougher penalties have also been suggested by the select committee include having your vehicle impounded if you are using a stolen badge.
The Guardian reports that an unintended consequence of the crackdown is that organisations that have been granted an institutional badge have had them removed –these badges are for organisations who ferry around a lot of disabled people from a centre in one car. The elderly centre in Wandsworth is now told that it will have to pay £500 a year for a license to do this – taking money away from the services provided.
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On Friday 28 to Sunday 30 November Deaffest returns to the Light House Media Centre in Wolverhampton for the tenth time. The principal aim of Deaffest is to nurture new talent in the Deaf community and showcase the work of Deaf filmmakers and producers to a wider audience.
Deaffest is the UK’s only Deaf-led Film and Television Festival which celebrates the talents of UK and international Deaf filmmakers and media artists. There is also Young Deaffest which shows the work produced by young Deaf filmmakers. As well as showing films, there will be panel discussions and social events.
The UK Film Council has been supporting British Film Festivals and with the help of a Lottery cash injection of £740,000 over the next three years it aims to really raise the profile and ambition of British Film Festivals. The UK Film Council has allocated £50,000 over three years for Deaffest to help in its aim to be the pre-eminent annual festival in the UK celebrating world-wide Deaf media production and showcasing it to both Deaf and hearing audiences.
Last years event took place at Light House in Wolverhampton on 23 to 25 November 2007 and reported record attendances of over 2200 and a sell out Gala. The weekend of festivities included screenings of films produced by UK and International Deaf filmmakers, Young Deaffest which showcased work produced in the first phase of the Mediabox film production and animation project by young Deaf filmmakers, panel discussions and a special pre-release screening of Enchanted, Disney's latest fun-filled adventure.
Speaking about last years event Director & Festival Co-ordinator Nikki Stratton states, “Each year Deaffest gets bigger and better, with growing audience numbers and an increasing number of films submitted from Deaf filmmakers, from the UK and across the world with submissions from Bulgaria, Italy, Finland, Brazil, Czech Republic. The Deaffest Film Awards Gala was a new element introduced to the festival in 2007 that proved to be incredibly successful, a success we will build upon for 2008. It was also great to see the short films and animations made through the Young Deaffest scheme and be able to offer the winning young filmmakers a bursary to help them further their career in the media industry.”
Admission to the festival is free so why not go along and be part of a real ‘happening event.
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The South Africans are leading the way in this “an athlete is an athlete” approach with 24 year old amputee swimmer Natalie Du Toit qualified to compete for her country in the Olympics open water race in Beijing before going on to contest six events at the Paralympics.
Britain is likely to sent about 400 athletes to represent us at the Paralympics in Bejing in September.
Britain will be competing in 18 of the 20 sports, including the newly introduced rowing. Hopes are high, as last time in Athens, Great Britain came second in the medal table behind China with 94 medals and a stunning 35 golds.
Wolverhampton athletes are well represented with Simon in the Midland based 5-aside football squad, and Alan Ash and Chris Ellis in the wheelchair rugby team.
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There is a quiet wave gathering strength across internet disability blogs on whether or not putting disabled people into mainstream education has worked. It seems to have begun with an article by Scottish writer Ian Hamilton, who is blind. His opinion is that integrating us into mainstream education hasn’t worked because we stick out like sore thumbs, and too much classroom activity is entirely visual for a blind student to partake on an equal basis – at the other end of the spectrum is Lawrence Clarke disabled comedian and regular at the Arena Theatre, who says that he could never know enough people or buy enough presents to use up all the gift tags they were always having to make at his “special school”. So it seems that there is a lot to be said about the problems with the education we are given on both sides of the arguement.
What do you think? If you have an opinion on this or other issues relevant to our lives as disabled people, why not become one of our guest bloggers on the One Voice website?
Who knows you could become the next internet blog-star!
We will give you the training, support, and equipment you need in order to do this, and you have the freedom to write your opinions and get them out there. If you are interested, or could be persuaded, contact the One Voice office for a chat.
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A total of 9 million people in the UK suffer have hearing loss and 98% will use SMS text messaging on their mobile phones.
Two years ago I was a victim of a crime whilst walking my Hearing Dog. I needed to contact 999 but how do you contact the emergency services if you are deafened. There was no one about who I could ask to call so I ended up walking to the police station. Unfortunately, my problems were only just beginning as there was a distinct lack of deaf awareness from the police and also with my emotional state it was very difficult to communicate effectively to explain what had happened.
After, I realised that this was a very unsatisfactory position to be in, I was lucky that I was not seriously injured or in a condition which required urgent medical treatment. I sought the help of my Social Worker for the Deaf and I found out that to help people like myself that West Midlands Police launched the UK's first mobile phone text messaging service for the D/deaf. This is designed for people who are D/deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have speech impediment to contact the emergency services without needing help from anybody else.
To use this service you need to be registered and you can do this by going to the West Midlands Police website at www.west-midlands.police.uk/general/text-messaging.asp and following the instructions or by downloading the leaflet using www.west-midlands.police.uk/pdfs/general/sms.pdf
If you are D/deaf, this is very important for your own wellbeing so do REGISTER.
As for the deaf awareness I was looking at Deaf News websites and the internet in general and came across some interesting information.
From last October the West Midlands Police website now has a series of five BSL videos to help D/deaf or hard of hearing people contact the police. These videos advise how to contact police, how to find someone at police station who uses BSL. The videos also promote Typetalk emergency number 18000
An article titled ‘POLICE trained in sign language are making life easier for deaf people.’ A quick summary of the article is basically Lancashire Police have a team of 14 officers trained in British Sign Language (BSL) who are on hand to help people who are arrested and gather statements from victims, witnesses and offenders. The Constabulary also has a Deaf Liaison Officer, PC Paula Robertson, who promotes sign language and deaf awareness training.
All divisions across Lancashire also now have Deaf PACT (Police and Communities Together) meetings. These meetings allow people to raise their concerns to the officers who are trained in BSL.
It does seem as if the barriers are coming down for those of us who are D/deaf and need to access the emergency services.
Ian n Hettie
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It must be the silly season, because a war is raging amongst the chattering classes over .... dolls.
Yes, you heard or read it right.
Why do we care? Well it’s all about the right to exist for dolls with visibly obvious impairments.
I’m only half kidding.
A woman in America designed a doll that looked like a young child with Down’s Syndrome, because her daughter has Down’s syndrome, they sold well there and may soon be available over here. The dolls look cute if you like dolls, and don’t look in danger of falling over or exploding like Barbie Dolls do. It seem s like a nice idea for kids to have dolls that look like the people they see around them, although in the case of the Doll who looks like she has Down’s syndrome, I think having a surgical scar on it’s chest because a high number of people with Down’s syndrome have heart problems, seems a step too far.
A lot of parents however oppose these dolls because it is focusing on our impairments (I don’t feel like invisibility has helped me so far).
These Dolls cost a bucket-load of money (about £90) so that’s realistic – as we know it’s expensive to be a disabled person living in an inaccessible society.
It seems to me that having kids exposed to play toys that are just as varied as the human race is a good thing – there was a lot of fuss about black dolls in the ‘seventies, but now they are commonplace, thank goodness. With dolls who have obvious impairments, it seems to me it’s a question of getting it right like the Down’s doll, and not being so concerned with the equality message that you end up insulting us and doing us a disservice.
A company called Kids Like Me (www.kidslikeme.co.uk) produces inclusive educational resources, including wheelchairs for dolls, and dolls interestingly called “disability dolls”, which their catalogue has described as dolls designed to fit the hearing aid, glasses, guide dog and cane, crutches and the leg braces.
Sounds a bit too much like the real world doesn’t it? They’ve made all these toy crutches, glasses, canes, hearing aids and wheelchairs, and now they’ve got to name some doll the disability doll to fit into these aids. The dolls don’t look disabled, and like Jesus, you can take away their impairments in a moment by throwing down their crutches, removing their hearing aids etc.
Not sure that this is sending the right message to kids about the nature of impairment or the disabling barriers we face in society. In fact it is probably sending exactly the wrong message.
But never fear, kidslikeme also has what they call a “Special Needs/Disability Set with 11 pieces” – that’s what they call them, they mean 11 dolls with impairments. These dolls have permanent impairments, which is slightly more realistic, but they come as a set – you play with the “disability dolls” all together – just like being in a day centre. Wouldn’t it have been better to have a group of dolls some with and some without impairments and call them “down our street” or something? Wouldn’t that better teach children about inclusivity?
The website is worth a visit just for fun though: the online catalogue unintentionally makes a telling spelling mistake, when it describes the “Special Needs / Disability Set with 11 pieces” as a bumber set maybe they meant bumper, maybe they meant bummer.
By Sue W.
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Monday 21st July 08
1.30 pm – 4.00 pm
Meeting room 3
Civic Centre, St. Peter’s Square
Wolverhampton City Council
DisabledGo provide a free national web-based disabled access guide to answer the everyday questions of disabled people. The aim is that the information will empower you to judge the disabled access to a range of venues including hotels, cinemas, restaurants and tourist attractions for yourself.
The Wolverhampton Access Guide has been ‘live’ on the DisabledGo website fort the past five years. We think this is a good time to understand how disabled people have used the website and how it can be improved. We would like to invite you to join us on the 21st July when DisabledGo will make a presentation on the service they provide and to consider feedback from the group. You may also wish your assistant, carer, family and friends to come with you.
If you haven’t already used the Access Guide you can access it on the DisabledGo website – www.disabledgo.info
We look forward to seeing you on the 21st, and if you will be attending the presentation could you confirm either by telephone, post or email with either myself or my colleague Vel Finney. My contact details are shown below. Velma can be contacted on 01902 555 411, email vel.finney@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Thank you.
Paula Lewis
Access Officer
Wolverhampton City Council
Regeneration and Environment
Planning Policy and Urban Design
Civic Centre
St. Peter’s Square
Wolverhampton
WV1 1RP
Tel. 01902 555611
Fax. 01902 555637
E-mail. Paula.lewis@wolverhampton.gov.uk
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[Cassandra is an anonomous One Voice columnist who likes to stir things up - this is the third 'Cassandra' in One Voice's history]