Southampton Centre for Independent Living

Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing a series of articles regarding the inclusion of Disabled Children within mainstream education. There will be a range of different opinions expressed and these articles will hopefully create debate and your comments on each article are very welcome.

Inclusion is yet again a very ‘hot’ topic. Not since the early 1980s has inclusion been so widely debated. When the BBC Politics Show visited SCIL in May, our Chief Executive, Ian Loynes, confirmed SCIL’s firm commitment to the belief that all Disabled children should be educated in a single mainstream education system along with their non-disabled peers.

The media furore around Baroness Warnock’s comments that the implementation of inclusion within education had left a ‘disastrous legacy’, coupled with Education and Skills Select Committee’s report into Special Educational Needs has once again opened up the debate and seen Inclusionists on the defensive.

The Alliance for Inclusive Education is looking for stories that can feature as part of their ‘We Know Inclusion Works’ campaign. They want to collect real stories of where inclusion has worked and stories that reflect the positive effect that inclusion has had on schools, family and the wider community. The Alliance will then present these stories to 10 Downing Street in October to ensure that the government receive a positive view of Inclusion as well as the negative view that the media seem to prefer. You can ring the Alliance on 0207 735 5277 or email them to find out more

We are very aware that the blog is currently very wordy so we are hoping to include more pictures, video and music in the near future so…….

While surfing around this bank holiday weekend, I came across this video and music montage which although rather sentimental, has a good message.

A Life Worth Living

Let us know what you think and if you come across anything that might be of interest to the blog, then please contact us.

How often have you felt frustrated when your local public authorities don’t take Disability Equality seriously and discriminate without even realising?
The new Disability Equality Duty (DED) offers a chance to rectify this situation. Under the DED public authorities must involve Disabled People in helping to eradicate disability discrimination.The Disability Rights Commission and HCODP are running a conference to educate Disabled People about the new Disability Equality Duty.  This event is designed to prepare Disabled Peoples and their organisations for Involvement with public authorities to assist them to meet their obligations under the duty, and to make services and employment opportunities accessible to Disabled People. 

The event is being held on Monday 11th September 2006 at the Novotel Hotel in Southampton.  The event is free to attend (reasonable travelling expenses will be paid) and will involve a full day commitment. If you require more details please contact HCODP or alternatively complete the registration form which is available on their website at www.hcodp.co.uk.  They will then send you event details and a map by return.

This is a real chance for you to get involved but places are limited so book now!

In an effort to publicise Our Lives R 4 Living campaign, we have joined the BBC Action Network website. The website highlights campaigns, both large and small, local and national, and allows people to lend support to the campaign or to comment on why they oppose the campaign.

As well as joining the BBC Action Network, we have been busy designing banners, printing flyers, and making T-shirts. We have also received over £100 for our fighting fund so far.

With only a week to go before our launch event on the 2nd September, it really feels like things are gaining momentum.

We are pleased to announce yet another major sponsor for SCIL’s Disabled People’s Business and Community Awards.

South West Trains is now the 6th organisation to lend its support to this exciting event however we are still seeking additional sponsorship to guarantee the event will be the biggest and best that we’ve ever staged. There are various sponsorship packages available so if your organisation would like to lend its support, then please contact us for more details.

As predicted, we are receiving completed nomination forms on virtually a daily basis so, it looks already like there will be some healthy competition in most categories. however don’t let that put you off from downloading a nomination pack from here, and your organisation could be winning an award when Debbie Thrower announces the winners on the 16th November at the Rose Bowl.

The biggest problem when writing a blog is to start getting too obsessed with how many people are reading it. This trap I have already fallen into. No sooner have I grabbed my first mug of coffee in the morning, then I am racing off to my computer to see how many hits I’ve had on the blog overnight. Just like in the world of television, you are then tempted to chase ratings. And what is the number one way to get ratings? Unfortunately its not to discuss equality or discrimination but to write about Sex.

Sex is something that is now discussed and debated ad nauseum. Even my mother discusses it with me - which is frankly wrong, but that’s enough story.

However there is still a real taboo surrounding sex and disabled people. Some people feel we shouldn’t do it. Some people even think we shouldn’t think about it. And a lot of people think that we should definitely not be doing it with non-disabled people.

Unfortunately this is actually making some Disabled people think that sex is ‘dirty’ or ‘disgusting’ and they do not feel able or supported to express their sexuality. A few weeks ago I watched a programme on Channel 4 about a dating agency specifically for people with learning difficulties. Before watching the program, I was not entirely happy with the concept, however the program convinced me that the agency was fulfilling an important role. The agency was set up and run by two women with learning difficulties who had found dating a minefield. The programme illustrated very well how family and ‘care staff’ needed to feel comfortable with the relationship in order for it to work. My favourite part was when one of the couples featured, felt they had to go and ask the chaperone from the agency whether they were allowed to kiss goodnight.

Another dating website I ventured upon whilst researching this blog, is called Whispers4u. They seem to be hedging their bets with their terminology as the site uses ‘differently-abled’, ’disabled’, ’people with disabilities’ even ‘handicapped’. Now purely for research you understand, I decided to join this website and although the target audience is obviously disabled people, I was surprised how many non-disabled people were on there and seem geninuely interested in chatting. Most of the people I spoke to, either already have close disabled friends or family members or they had worked with disabled people in the past. (Anyway, I got a date out of it so I’ll let you know how it goes - then again maybe i won’t).

Disabled People may need support to explore their sexuality and this may be even more important if you are a Disabled Gay Man or a Disabled Lesbian. Regard is a national organisation based in London to support Disabled People who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender. Unfortunately, due to funding cuts, they have slimmed down in recent years, however they are still a good source of information and support.

SCIL currently have 12 basic rights which we feel are necessary in order for Disabled People to fully participate on an equal basis within society. We are now considering whether to add a 13th basic right to cover relationships and sex. Your comments are always welcome.

This is a new campaign led by Disabled People’s organisations to establish a right to Independent Living. A new Independent Living Bill is currently being debated in Parliament which outlines a rights based framework for Independent Living and also sets out rights for Disabled People living in residential care and issues around accessible housing and inclusive planning.This legislation is increasing important as local authorities are making their eligibility criteria tighter and tighter. This means that Disabled People are having their support packages cut or withdrawn all together. Often Disabled People are now having to rely on family and friends in order to do the most basic living tasks such as washing, dressing and eating.

From December 2006, all public authorities will have a duty to promote equality of opportunity for Disabled People. This is called the Disability Equality Duty. The duty requires authorities to publish a Disability Equality Scheme and Action Plan and involve Disabled People in the development of this. Authorities must also demonstrate that they are actively following the action plan, achieving outcomes and reviewing and revising the scheme.

We do not feel that Disabled People are being adequately involved in developing these schemes and action plans.

The Government are planning yet another change to the Benefits system. We are angry that Disabled People are having their benefits threatened which will affect their livelihood.

We are also very concerned that many Disabled People’s organisations are being forced to close due to cuts in funding. This goes against the government’s rhetoric that it wants Disabled People to be involved in developing and providing services to other Disabled People.

We need as many Disabled People to support our campaign and hopefully come along to our launch event on Saturday September 2nd. We will be meeting at 12.30 at the Liberty Festival in front of Admirality Arch at the entrance to St James Park close to Trafalgar Square. Please come and join us if you can. We will be dressed in rags and chains to show that it is very difficult to live independently because we do not have enough support to have freedom and choice.

We want make a big picture of the things that stop us being independent that we can show to people who make decision that affect our lives and need you to bring your stories with you to add to our picture.  We are suggesting something written or drawn on a piece of cloth about the size of a pillow case which we can add to a roll of cloth.

If you would like to know more about what we are doing or about what is happening on the 2^nd September please contact Chris Hughes at Derbyshire Coalition for Inclusive Living on 01298 812535 /  01773 740246 chip.6361@virgin.net

Fighting fund - we will need money to help us with this campaign.  If anyone or any organisations would like to give some money to help please contact Hazel Peasley at Southampton Centre for Independent Living on 023 8020 2627 or hazel@southamptoncil.co.uk

If you can’t make it on the 2^nd September contact us and we can talk to you about how you could support the campaign locally

We are pleased to announce that we have received our 1st nomination form back for this year’s SCIL’s Disabled People’s Business and Community Awards that will be held on the 16th November 2006 at the Rose Bowl in West End, Southampton. Unfortunately we can’t tell you which organisation submitted the form but suffice to say, we hope there will be many more dropping through our letter box in the next few weeks. But don’t worry if you haven’t received a nomination pack or you’ve simply mislaid it you can download a nomination pack from here. The closing date is the 15th September so you still have plenty of time

How to start a Blog?

Let’s start at the very beginning…..a very good place to start…….

Southampton Centre for Independent Living is an organisation of disabled people, run and controlled by disabled people. We started out in 1984 and have grown over the past 22 years into an organisation that supports over 1000 disabled people each year, employs over 20 members of staff (both disabled and non-disabled), and continues to campaign for the rights of Disabled People, not just in Southampton but across the whole country.

We are probably best known for the work we do within Direct Payments, however we are a lot more than a one-trick pony as you’ll find out if you stay tuned to our blog over the coming weeks and months.