Southampton Centre for Independent Living, an organisation run and controlled by Disabled People, wish to recruit a Disabled Person.
Direct Payments Support Worker 37.5hrs per week, £20,893 - £22,292
An exciting opportunity to support, train, inform and advise disabled people to organise their own personal assistance arrangements through the use of Direct Payments.
The geographic area you will cover is negotiable. Posts require an ability to travel unaided or with assistance. A training and induction package will enable you to develop your skills. You will have the opportunity to make a difference to other Disabled Peoples’ lives.
This job will suit any Disabled Person committed to the principles of Independent Living and the Social Model of Disability.Experience of providing advice and information to Disabled People would be an advantage.
SCIL is committed to the principle of equality of opportunity. We particularly welcome applications from Disabled People who are also members of minority groups. All posts are open to job share.
For application packs, or an informal chat, please contact Robert at SCIL, Unity 12, 9-19 Rose Road, Southampton, SO14 6TE Tel: 023 8033 0982, Textphone: 023 8020 2649, Fax: 023 8020 2648E-mail: robert@southamptoncil.co.uk
Returned application forms to be received by Monday 17th September
Hampshire Centre for Independent Living have already received concerns from Direct Payments users after a report entitled ‘Improving Hampshire’s Direct Payments Scheme’ was submitted to Hampshire County Council’s cabinet meeting on 23July.
This report outlined some of the areas that would be covered in a consultation document due to be released this autumn. It may appear premature for people to raise concerns before the consultation document is even released however it is interesting which issues have been focussed on, in the report to cabinet.
Firstly, Hampshire are consulting on whether users should be financially assessed over the phone rather than in person, and whether this should occur at the user’s initial contact with Adult or Children Services.
Secondly, Hampshire wish to introduce a ‘Direct Payments Risk Assessment’. This will record and combine information on the size of the Direct Payment, the user’s perceived ability to manage their Direct Payment and other evidence that will enable a profile to be built up and understand whether the user is using their Direct Payments appropriately.
Thirdly, they will be consulting on tightening up the controls and governance of the assistance available to users from Support Worker Organisations such as Enham and SCIL.
Fourthly, Hampshire are proposing to introduce ‘outcome planning’ to ensure that all users agree their desired outcomes before agreeing to receive Direct Payments.
All these proposals seem to be heading in a particular direction and it will be interesting to read the consultation document in full when it is released in Autumn 2007.
Well, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun. It doesn’t seem a year ago that we decided that a blog on the SCIL website might liven things up a bit.
Over the last year, we covered a whole range of different issues affecting Disabled People’s lives,from Inclusion to Direct Payments to Relationships. There has been 71 articles posted and 40 people have commented on the blog. Thanks to everyone who has contributed over the last year. We’ve had nearly 7000 hits over the year which is really encouraging.
Developing the blog into a useful resource has taken some time but we now have a host of information with a sprinkling of pictures which helps break up the text. We also now have a Jobs page on the blog so that Disabled People who are looking for Personal Assistants can advertise free of charge. We are also constantly searching for new websites and blogs that you may find useful. Any suggestions are gratefully received.
Linked to the SCIL Blog, we recently launched a SCIL Chat Room and a SCIL Message Board. We are hoping, like the blog, that they will grow in popularity as time goes on. Anyone can use them so give it a go.
To celebrate our first anniversary, we are at last including videos on our blog. This first video is just a bit of fun but we hope to include more informative news clips as time goes on. All you need to do is click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen and it will start playing. Enjoy!
SCIL has been working hard over the past couple of months to develop its presence on the Internet. Although we are very aware that some people do not have regular access to Internet, we feel that it is important that SCIL continues to promote itself as a leading voice within the Independent Living movement and the website is one way that we can do that.
It is also important that the SCIL website encourages interactivity with its readers and therefore we have recently launched 2 new developments:
SCIL has now its very own chat room for any issues relating to Independent Living, Direct Payments, Self Directed Support etc. Anyone can participate no matter where you live. We hope to host various events on there such as an online Direct Payments Peer Support Group. Other ideas would be welcome.
Also we might be able to use it to network over various campaign issues on a national basis. We will be shortly paying £15 per month for the chat room so it would be good to see if we can find some good uses for it. Anyway, you can try it out by clicking here
SCIL has also launched its own message board. This means that you don’t necessarily have to be online at the same time as other people. You can post your thoughts / comments / queries on the board and other users can reply at their leisure.
At the moment, we have a board for General Chat and News, Direct Payments, Campaigning and Travel and Transport. Other suggestions would be welcomed.
With all these developments, we are learning as we go along so please do let us know if you experience problems or need assistance. You can contact Robert on 023 8020 2639 or email Robert@southamptoncil.co.uk
Peer support is a core element of the work we do at Southampton Centre for Independent Living. Indeed the organisation was set up in 1984 with the main aim of Disabled People supporting fellow Disabled People. That is why we believe that Direct Payments Support Workers must be Disabled People and preferably Direct Payments users themselves.
Over the years we have set up a number of peer support groups with varying degrees of success. Barriers such as lack of accessible venues, scarcity of accessible public transport and difficulty securing PA support to attend the meeting have hampered our efforts however we are pleased to report that we now have popular peer support groups running in Eastleigh and the New Forest. Both groups are always eager for new members so why not come along? Venues and dates are shown below and we hope groups in Fareham and Petersfield will start very soon.
Peer support groups are a great way to meet other Disabled People to discuss any issues to do with Independent Living. You don’t necessarily have to be on Direct Payments to participate.
Another exciting move is that SCIL have opened an online chat room where we plan to hold regular peer support group meetings for people who have access to the Internet. One advantage of this is that people don’t need to worry about access, transport or PA support, they just need to turn their computer on. If you want to try out the SCIL chat room, then just click here
We hope that these developments both in the ‘real’ and the ‘cyber’ world will benefit Disabled People across Hampshire and help strengthen our commitment to peer support.
Future Dates of Peer Support Groups are as follows:
23 August and 21 September at Wells Place in Eastleigh2.30pm – 4pmContact Maureen on 023 80202641 or email Maureen@southamptoncil.co.uk
20 September in New Milton contact Berni on 023 80202630 or email Berni@southamptoncil.co.uk to confirm time and venue
SCIL is an organisation run and controlled by Disabled People. We support Disabled People to live independently and campaign for an inclusive society which does not discriminate against Disabled People. We believe that Disabled People should have the same opportunities and quality of life that non-Disabled people take for granted.
