Zoe Parker’s Post

To demonstrate how this plays out with a personal example: In the last year I've been wanting to get into a gym to build strength. Something that is great for fall prevention, pain management and joint stability. All vital for my physical conditions and also help mental health. I've been a victim of violence and while I know I can't run/defend myself if this happens again, 'feeling strong' is something that would help hugely with my confidence in getting out & about. What's stopped me from doing something that is clearly so beneficial? - Cost - Time/energy - As I use most of my pain/fatigue 'allowance' to work - Lack of informed PTs for my type of challenges - Stigma on how others will perceive me. - Fear of surveillance & losing what I need to support the additional costs of existing as a disabled person. In this time how many times have I fallen? Had a 'bad leg day' and had to crawl around my flat? Not go out for lack of confidence in my safety? I am missing out. I have had a PIP assessor "remind" me that they could review CCTV footage of me doing my groceries. They wanted me to know I was being observed, judged, and constantly under the threat of losing the minimal support this benefit offers if they decided I had misrepresented my experiences. That moment still stays with me every time I step outside my flat, even often when I'm inside and I worry what neighbours see through the windows when I'm doing my daily physio that helps me manage my wellness, stay in work and feel good. That is how deeply that message lands in the disabled community. I can't 'un-disable' myself (after all, the disablement is by society 😉) but the management of these conditions is made less of a load for me as a person in my work and in living a full life, if I can move during the times when I'm able to and have the resources. But if you were told that what you need to support your health in all the other ways you need, including and beyond physical, could be removed, for simply how you are observed doing your groceries.... would you go to gym? Take up a sport? Go for a walk? even if you were excited and motivated to do so? Never underestimate the oppressive force of the threat of or actual surveillance of disabled people and its lasting impacts on every element of our lives. Social, employment, health and more. I speak in this case from a (deeply) personal perspective because I know this often lands well with those of you following me here. However if you've followed my work for a while you'll know that I also regularly educate & advocate for individual & community access and inclusion for disabled folks, and the stories I hear are the same widely. I'm fortunate to have some other layers of privilege, but this issue is further compounded with layered intersectionality. Listen to experts like John Amaechi OBE 📢 Engage with this issue. Use your power to make change.

❤️ This week is #carersweek which is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. 💞 It also helps people who don't think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support. 🗺 This year the theme is 'Putting Carers on the Map' highlighting the invaluable contributions of carers across the UK and ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear. 🚸 Children as young as five can often find themselves in a role as young carer to a family member sometimes carrying out 50 hours of care each week on top of their normal school life. 🏫 Schools, colleges and universities can identify children, young people and adults with caring responsibilities. They can recognise the impact caring can have on their studies, as well as their personal lives. They can take action to ensure carers get the help they need to cope with what can be an intense additional pressure. 📈 Last week, we learnt that, for the second year in a row, schools in BCP were the most effective at identifying young carers across the UK 🏆 MYTIME Young Carers' Level Up Programme once again proving a vital resource and support to schools. 🧐 But there's still work to do as 72% of schools nationally say that they don't know of young carers! 📺 If you can spare a couple of minutes to watch Oritsé Williams talk of his experiences around being a young carer it really will be one of the most worthwhile break you have today.

Danny Josephs (COO/Client Lead at mFuse ) tackles the challenging realities of accessibility head-on in his latest campaign article. The piece is both honest and thought-provoking. While systemic change is crucial, there's one action you can take today: Ask "Do you have any accessibility requirements?" when organising meetings, just as you would dietary needs. Small changes, big impact. #accessibility #inclusion #meetings #mFuse

Watch as two of our team members, Richard Blakeborough (interviewer) and Tony (interviewee and head of DIAS at Independent Living) talk about the EGL (Enabling Good Lives) Principle: ‘Ordinary life outcomes’.     Tony discusses what Ordinary Life Outcomes look like for him personally as well as what that means in our Independent Living context. Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People #EGL #EnablingGoodLives #IndependentLiving

💡Did you know?💡 Special Olympics BC’s Champions for Inclusive Health Stakeholder Coalition brings stakeholders of all backgrounds together to challenge the status quo and proactively contribute to achieving health equity for individuals with intellectual disabilities. This coalition aims to end the harm and unequal conditions experienced by individuals with intellectual disabilities in B.C., and establish impactful resources, expertise, and best practices that can encourage other jurisdictions to follow B.C.’s lead. 🍎 If you are active in health and passionate about helping people with intellectual disabilities, please join our newsletter to find ways on how you can make an impact: ➡️https://lnkd.in/gSBi-Nqw

Today, the European Blind Union was invited to participate in the #NDAConference2024 of the National Disability Authority focused on promoting the participation of people with disabilities in cultural life, tourism and sports. In the event, we participated in a panel discussion about Article 30 of the UNCRPD at an international level. In the discussion, EBU underlined its main commitments in this area: - The evaluation and mid-term review of the Creative Europe programme by paying attention to its MEDIA Strand. - Ensuring the correct implementation of the European Accessibility Act as far e-books are concerned. - The review of the EU legal framework for the implementation of the #MarrakeshTreaty.

Below is a link of me speaking on Clare FM https://lnkd.in/egDEEkyQ

Welcome disabled visitors this Purple Tuesday - and beyond - by sharing your disabled access information! Our blog post has some helpful suggestions on how you can quickly and simply welcome disabled visitors. #PurpleTuesday

Today is Carers Rights Day and it feels like the perfect time to reflect on the work that Carers Trust and Carers UK have done to support carers, especially those who are traditionally underserved by carer support services. Over the past couple of years, I have been working with Sally Cupitt on an evaluation of their Making Carers Count programme. Based on data from this evaluation, together with Ben O'Hanlon and some brilliant carers services around the UK, we developed a series of good practice guides designed to help organisations and services better support carers. It was a rewarding process to pull together these guides as they were rooted in evidence and practical insights from the evaluation. The titles of the guides are: 📘 Developing an inclusive organisation 📘 Creating more inclusive spaces for carers 📘 A whole family approach to supporting carers 📘 Working in partnership to better identify and support carers 📘 Developing young adult carer services – a practical guide Carers play such important and often challenging roles. And it’s so important that support services meet their needs, particularly for those who often face barriers to accessing help. I’m hopeful these guides can contribute to making a difference in the lives of carers and their families. https://lnkd.in/ehHET7kJ #CarersRightsDay #Evaluation