We would like to wish all our blog readers a very Merry Christmas. Most of our hard working staff are taking a well earned break over Christmas, so SCIL will be closed between 25th December and 1st January.
An answerphone will be available during this time but if you need assistance urgently, you can call Hampshire Social Services Direct on 0845 600 45 55 or if you live in Southampton, please call 023 8023 3344.
This post was written by Ian Loynes, SCIL’s Chief Executive.
At its joint AGM in September, SCIL and the Hampshire Coalition of Disabled People (HCODP) agreed the proposal that both organisations should work more closely together in the future. This article explains why we want to do this and what we hope to achieve.
SCIL & HCODP were formed separately, in 1984 & 1990 with different but linked aims. However (like many organisations) SCIL & HCODP have both found it difficult to attract resources, MC members and other volunteers. As a result, both organisations increasingly share people (for example, staff with one organisation are commonly MC members on the other). In addition, both organisations share many other things like: members, premises, personnel, funding sources, similar projects etc. We worried that this might lead to confusion, duplication, tension, burn-out or conflict which we wanted to avoid.
An initial joint meeting agreed the need to work more closely together, but felt a full merger would be inappropriate. Since then DAIN and DOVE have all agreed that the issues apply equally to them as well. Jointly we submitted a funding proposal to enable the appointment of a joint worker to take these ideas forward and to enable all the organisations to survive and thrive in the future.
What should we achieve by working closely together:
However, there are a number of things we also want to avoid:
So, what do you think?…If you have any views or ideas, please email me on ian@southamptoncil.co.uk or phone or post your views to the usual address.
With SCIL’s AGM just around the corner, SCIL are pleased to release their annual report for 2006/2007. As you will see, it has been yet another rollercoaster of a year with some low points but also some real signs of optimism for the future.
We are just about to start phase 2 of our redevelopment of Unity 12. Once completed, we will have fully accessible conference room facilities, in addition to extra office space that will be let to like-minded organisations.
Anyway, I don’t want to reveal all the hidden gems you will find in the annual report. Give it a read, you might find it more interesting than you thought - just click the link below.
SCIL’s Annual Report 2006 - 2007
The above file is a PDF file so you will need Adobe Acrobat on your computer and it may take a few seconds to download.
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.
You can access the message boards by clicking here.
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
SCIL’s Management Committee would very much like to thank Malcolm Cooper for the time and effort he has spent over the last few years as one of its members. Malcolm has regrettably needed to resign from the committee due to his very many other commitments. We wish him well for the future and look forward to seeing him at the Friendship Club and other SCIL events.
This article was written by Hazel Peasley.
Below is a statement taken by a network/consortium of Disabled People’s organisations called “Our Lives R 4 Living”, to the recent national consultation day organised for the Department of Health, by the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP).
The event was held to discuss and consider how best to achieve the successful implementation of Recommendation 4.3 of the Cabinet Office report published last year called ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’.
This recommendation of the report called for the establishment of Centres for Independent Living (CILs) in every local authority Social Services area by the year 2010. At the end of the day long consultation event, an indicative vote was taken on the below statement. No one voted against it. This is despite such organisations as carers’ groups and charities like Scope and the Rowan Trust raising objections to it.
A substantial number of those present, including a number of people representing such organisations not controlled by Disabled People, protested at the limited time available before the Department of Health concludes its consultation process on this important issue, by abstaining on the vote.
As is inevitable when such a short time exists to consider and decide on such matters (there has only been a total of six weeks for this consultation exercise) a number of drafting amendments
were suggested from the floor by those at the event. Only one such amendment, proposed by Richard Downes representing the Disabled People’s organisation Brent Advocacy Concerns (BAC), was added to the statement and appears at the end as ‘Number 3′. This amendment was accepted by those proposing the main statement on behalf of “Our Lives R 4 Living”.
Other versions of this statement which take into account various of these other minor changes discussed but not voted upon, have been circulated since the event, but for clarity I am only posting here the one actually voted upon and passed at the meeting (which included the amendment proposed by Richard Downs).
The below statement, adopted by the meeting, sends a clear message to Central Government about the views of Disabled People and our organisations concerning this very important matter.
The statement reads:
‘We understand the clear distinction which exists between organisations led by people eligible to access services (sometimes referred to as User-Led Organisations or ULOs) and organisations routed firmly within the Disabled People’s Movement (referred to as organisations OF Disabled People). These latter groups, whilst being led by people eligible to access services, are distinct because they apply social model principles. These groups are owned, led, managed and staffed in the majority by Disabled People; they are usually cross-impairment with strong principles of democratic accountability.
There is a clear role for User-Led Organisations (ULOs), which are not members of the Disabled Peoples Movement, e.g. some carers’ and children’s organisations or those set up to enable involvement within a particular service. Such organisations are not the same in character as those which the ‘life chances’ report sought to promote (’Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’, January 2005).
‘Improving Life Chances’ laid down a clear principle that there should be an organisation of Disabled People modelled on Centres for Independent Living (CILs) in every locality (local social services area) by the year 2010. A CIL is a social model based, cross-impairment organisation, owned and controlled by, and accountable to, the Disabled Community. A CIL supports
Disabled People to live independently through peer support, campaigning and providing user-led services.
This meeting strongly supports the establishment of such organisations and believes that this will be a vital contribution to ensuring that genuine and authentic independent living services exist for Disabled People by maintaining the independent voice of the Disabled Community.
This meeting affirms that for such Centres for Independent Living to be successful, effective and sustainable, they need to be underpinned by social model principles and accountable directly to the local communities from which they spring and seek to serve. ‘Top-down’ structures imposed centrally are destined to fail.
This meeting proposes to the Department of Health (DoH) that existing Centres for Independent Living and other parallel social model based organisations, owned and controlled by Disabled People at a local level, are best placed to support the widening of Centres for Independent Living. A consortium of such organisations should be resourced by the Department of Health to ensure the effective establishment of independently funded Centres for Independent Living across the country. To this end, a working group of CIL representatives should be set up without delay and resourced by the Department of Health to found such a consortium and draw up detailed implementation plans for the establishment of Centres for Independent Living across the country.
Finally, this meeting firmly believes that the current consultation exercise being conducted on behalf of the Department of Health to ascertain the views of ULOs regarding the establishment of Centres for Independent Living in line with ‘Improving Life Chances’, is to be welcomed. However, if the momentum of the process is to be maintained and the 2010 target is to be achieved, this meeting believes that transparency, openness and accountability are all essential. For this reason, the report produced as a consequence of the current consultation exercise must be published and shared fully with Disabled People. This will help the process to be meaningful, genuine partnerships to be built and trust to be maintained.
This meeting therefore urges Department of Health to demonstrate its support for and commitment to this important agenda by:
1. Agreeing to support and resource adequately the establishment of a resourced network of existing Centres for Independent Living with a view to ensuring that they play the leading role in delivering new Centres for Independent Living in areas where they do not exist yet.
2. Publishing without delay, the full report of the current consultation exercise, including any recommendations, conclusions and proposed actions suggested as a consequence of this process.
3. Prioritising the funding and re-enervation of existing organisations OF Disabled People with a proven commitment to the inclusion, independence and equality of Disabled People.
This post is written by Valarie Moushigian, the newest member of SCIL’s Management Committee…..
As SCIL’s Management Committee comprises of 5 males, I felt it was my duty to be co-opted onto the management committee to increase the supremacy of females, and complementing Lesley (who attends as SCIL’s Office Manager) with the strength, bravado, common sense, humour, practical know-how and of course good looks that we both naturally possess. Please bear in mind that these qualities are only an ounce of the skills we possess!
In all seriousness and with some arrogance put to one side! There is an element of truth in what I’m saying. I have been a member of SCIL for a year now and have been witness to many successes and some failures. With my background in business administration and marketing, and using my natural skills I possess as being a woman, I felt it prudent to contribute some of my knowledge in assisting SCIL in continuing to strive for an organisation that can create equality for Disabled People within our society. Part of this venture means running a successful business alongside empowering Disabled People to fight for their rights to independent living.
When I first joined SCIL I didn’t consider myself a Disabled Person, however upon speaking with various members I realised that the fears and barriers I was faced with 18 years ago and in the very recent past was called Discrimination! I have continuously been discriminated against in my work environment but never knew my rights to complain about the issues I was faced with. My employers were ignorant to say the least in realising and understanding their duty towards Disabled People. I have made a commitment to myself to ensure organisations such as SCIL continue to grow and succeed, and if I can use the skills I have attained from the ignorant culprits and put them to good use within this organisation I feel we are one step closer.
But don’t be fooled, in return for my experience I am hoping to learn more about the Movement and how I can empower our members and future members to fight for their rights and ensure we all live in an inclusive society that holds no barriers!
YOU CAN HELP!!! We have a ’special’ management committee meeting on 27th February 2007 (more details to follow) and I would very much like our members or future members to come to SCIL to express your views. You can enjoy some fine afternoon tea and meet the staff while you’re here. You can even be like me and decide to join the committee. I would appreciate meeting the members and give you the opportunity to share your opinions on how you think SCIL can improve and grow to work for you.
If you have child care issues, never mind, bring them along. If you have to bring your mother-in-law then that’s ok too, we have a cupboard under the stairs!
I specifically haven’t included my photograph because I would like to draw attention to your curiosity. Some say I look very much like Dawn French but then again some of them tell me I resemble Elle MacPherson. When I was 16 I was told I looked like some British rock star I have never heard of, but then again that was going back some years and I am Australian so what would I know!
I look forward to meeting you on February 27th!
Apologies if I have offended any males, females, mother-in-law’s, Dawn French or Elle. Poor humour is a severe impairment of my Australian heritage
In June, we had a volunteer from Japan work at SCIL for three weeks, to discover more about the Disabled People’s Movement in the UK. Asami visited many other places in the UK and in Europe after visiting us. Asami has now returned to Japan and sent us this article about her time in Southampton:
I visited UK from Japan to find out about the issues around independent living of Disabled People. I have visual impairment myself and have been working at small Disabled organization in Japan.
From June to July, I spent 3 weeks with SCIL and had a great experience there. I accompanied some home visits, attended the meetings and events, heard about their various work and discussed issues around Disabled People etc. At first time, I was a little nervous with new environment but people at SCIL are friendly, so I felt at home very soon.
I enjoyed most of the time and found some interesting and new ideas. For example, I am impressed that quite a few Disabled workers are working as a support worker but having a personal assistant at work (Access to Work) They can get support to go to work or for the home visit or to do paper work etc. it seemed a good role model and very encouraging. In Japan, we have a scheme similar to Access to Work but because of very limited resources, many people are not able to get the support they need.
Also, it was interesting to know how disabled people can use Direct Payments as we don’t have such scheme. I had a chance to get a feel of the challenge to Disability Discrimination and promote user involvement. On the other hand, it seemed that there were same situations that we are facing in Japan.
Getting care is becoming difficult and you have to pay towards the care even if you have not enough income and so many people remain at home, and it is difficult to participate in the society. However, it was great that we were able to share our experience each other. I am sure we have a same goal.
We need to keep working for all disabled people to be able to live independently and make inclusive society. Thank you again. I have got back to Japan on 22nd September with great memories. It would be great if SCIL could come to visit us in Japan someday. I hope to keep in touch.
For nine years, the Consumer Audit Project at SCIL has provided an innovative service where community care services could be assessed by whether they actually delivered positive outcomes for users rather than merely measuring meaningless numbers.
Consumer Audit trained and supported disabled people to develop the skills that were needed in order to engage with the users of the services being audited to discover whether the service was actually meeting these outcomes. Many auditors like myself developed the confidence and skills that enabled them to secure paid employment both at SCIL and in other organisations.
Consumer Audits were not just tokenistic ‘consultation’ exercises, they were a truly different way to provide services with information about how to improve and develop. This new way of auditing garnered press and publicity not just in Hampshire but across the country. Hampshire County Council were rightly very proud of the project, as they were the main funder.
And then the letter came…… ‘We regret to inform you……blah blah’. Hampshire County Council were withdrawing the funding from the end of September 2006.
It seems particularly ironic that just two months before the introduction of the Disability Equality Duty, which require public authorities to engage with Disabled People, Hampshire County Council were withdrawing funding.
Chris Hunt, who has been with Consumer Audit virtually since it began, left SCIL this week and we wish her well in the future. Despite losing the funding, SCIL has built up a great deal of expertise in this field in nine years, and we have proven that true involvement of Disabled People can reap rewards. We hope that other organisations will continue to see the benefit of Consumer Audit and will be willing to purchase the service. The core funding of Consumer Audit may have gone but our expertise and our belief in the methodology continues at SCIL.
On Saturday 2nd September, campaigners from around the country gathered in Trafalgar Square to launch Our Lives R 4 Living Campaign at the Liberty Festival.
The main aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of and support for the Independent Living Bill. This Bill is increasngly important as many local authorities are considering raising the eligibility criteria which will force many disabled people to rely on family and friends or move into residential ‘care’.
Throughout the day, we asked Disabled People to write their stories and slogans on a roll of cloth which we hope to take around the country and collect as evidence that a ‘Right to Independent Living’ is needed.
We also asked people to sign a petition supporting our campaign and collected over 200 signatures.
This is obviously just the start of the campaign so please get in touch if you would like to get involved.
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.
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