Hightown supports resident land their dream job
According to the United Nations, more than one billion people, approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability. Care and support staff at Hightown Housing Association are passionate about supporting service users feel confident enough to strive for their personal goals. Mimi’s story Thanks in part to the support of staff at Hightown, a supported housing resident secured a part time job at Heirs and Graces Day Nursery in Tring working as a Teaching Assistant. Mimi has Cerebral Palsy and is a wheelchair user who lives at one of Hightown’s supported housing schemes in Tring for people with physical and learning disabilities, as well as mental health issues. Having only ever lived with her family, she decided to move to the scheme to gain more independence. Mimi has her own self-contained flat with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room. Each resident has a personalised support plan to help reach their full potential, build confidence and make decisions regarding their life. During her time looking for local volunteering opportunities, Mimi found that some buildings had limited accessibility for wheelchair users. As a result, she was in some cases unable to progress past an initial meeting. Heirs and Graces Nursery is fully accessible. They have recently renovated their entrance, including an access ramp and hand rails. Mimi has qualifications in English, Maths and Children’s Development. Instead of offering Mimi a volunteer role, the staff at Heirs and Graces were so impressed that they offered her a paid position working two days a week. She will be helping children aged 2 – 3 years old. Mimi had support from staff at the scheme when first making contact with local schools and nurseries. Mimi said: “The staff are friendly and chatty and always on hand to help if needed. They supported me in my search for a volunteering role by asking local nurseries and schools and getting contacts for me to meet with. To be offered a paid job out of it was a lovely surprise!” Since starting her Teaching Assistant role in summer, Mimi has flourished. She loves working with the children and is thrilled that she was given the opportunity to join the Heirs and Grace’s staff team. Mimi now makes trips into the town centre independently, which she did not do when she first moved into the scheme. She also volunteers with ‘The Inclusion Project’. The project runs activities to promote a healthy, social and active lifestyle for adults with learning disabilities. The aim is for people with learning disabilities to be immersed into the local community. Find out more
Mo O’Brien to become the first deaf person to row across the Atlantic Ocean
The ReSound dedication to celebrating the accomplishments of people with hearing loss and helping them achieve more will be taking to the high seas in December, supporting an inspirational all-female rowing team: the Oarsome Foursome. The team will not only take on the “world’s toughest row” over 3,000 miles of open water, they also plan to sail into history, as rower Mo O’Brien aims to be the first deaf person to row in a boat across the Atlantic Ocean. The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is a daunting challenge for anyone – and an inconceivable idea for many. More people have climbed Mount Everest than rowed across the Atlantic in a boat.[i] It is a unique, serious, stamina-questioning endurance test. Any person who takes on the challenge needs to have their wits about them and their senses working optimally. The stakes are much higher when attempting this challenge with a profound hearing loss, as is the case with the Oarsome Foursome’s Mo O’Brien. Deafness presents many challenges at sea. A person with profound hearing loss will have extreme difficulties hearing sounds in every direction, especially in wind noise, getting a true sense of space and filtering out distracting background noises to hear speech and instructions clearly. Why embrace such a challenge? Overcoming many hurdles in life due to profound hearing loss and suddenly being able to hear better by wearing ReSound hearing aids inspired Mo O’Brien to “do something incredible” and let her confidence and character shine. “My hearing loss has affected my personality in a big way, but I am no longer letting it stop me,” said Mo. “Let’s realise that we don’t need to just exist through this life. You need to live it to the full and fulfil your dreams while you can.” Mo will wear her ReSound high-performance hearing aids during the race to help her achieve her dream. Even in this high-pressure environment, the superlative sound quality will kick into action, enabling Mo to hear 360 degrees of sound even through the wind and rain, crisply, clearly and comfortably as she moves in every direction and talks with her teammates. Mo is free to be fully immersed in the action. “We are proud to sponsor the Oarsome Foursome as they journey over very deep water to achieve a fantastic accomplishment and raise money for charity,” said Christina Molt-Wengel, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, GN Hearing. “We’ll be with them, especially Mo, every stroke of the way.” The Oarsome Foursome team rowers are Mo O’Brien, Claire Allinson, and Bird Watts, who is Mo’s daughter. Recently, teammate Linda Whittaker sadly had to withdraw from the race due to health issues, but she is still very much part of the crew, albeit land-based. ReSound has granted a sponsorship to the team. The Oarsome Foursome’s other main sponsors are Coldplay, MUTU System, and Crown Records Management. Follow the Oarsome Foursome on Facebook or help them raise funds for charity. Feel their passion and be inspired with their YouTube video. Learn more about ReSound.
Learning disability charity shares insight with Lloyds Bank Foundation
A learning disability charity has shared its research to help upskill a charitable foundation about social care and the issues the sector is currently facing. Billy Davis, who is Public Affairs and Policy Manager at national learning disability charity Hft, spoke to staff members at a training event run by Lloyds Bank Foundation, which funds and supports small and local charities across England and Wales to tackle complex social issues including overcoming problems faced by people with a learning disability. The training encouraged Foundation staff members to grow their knowledge about the learning disability sector and help them to have more informed conversations that ultimately lead to an improved grant-making process. One of the issues discussed by Billy Davis was the funding crisis the social care sector is currently facing. The policy manager drew on Hft’s annual Sector Pulse Check research, which provides a yearly snapshot of the financial health of the sector, to highlight the impact of the financial pressures affecting services that support people with learning disabilities. Last year’s report revealed that more than half (59%) of providers had been forced to close down some parts of their organisation or hand back contracts to local authorities as a means of dealing with cost pressures. Billy Davis, Public Affairs and Policy Manager, said: “Hft has been producing the Sector Pulse Check report, which is the only research to focus exclusively on providers in the learning disability sector, for four years now. In that time, we have gathered a wealth of knowledge about the challenges faced by providers, and the impact this is having on people who receive those services. “I was delighted to be invited to share our research with Lloyds Bank Foundation. I hope that it has helped to shine a light on some of the current issues facing the learning disability sector and the people we support, which in turn will inform Lloyds Bank Foundation when making funding decisions in the work that they do to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities.” Oliver Williams, Head of Grants (South) at Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, said: “In our current portfolio, we have awarded 50 grants worth £3m to small and local charities across England and Wales which support people with a learning disability. Therefore it’s crucial that our decision-making is informed by experts in the field who work and help those with a learning disability, whether it’s to find work or live with more independence. We’re delighted to hear from Hft’s policy manager, who has really helped us to better understand the social care and learning disability policy landscape in England and Wales.” Hft currently supports more than 2,500 people with learning disabilities across the country to live the best life possible. This includes supporting people with learning disabilities to live independently in their own homes, providing employment services to help people develop skills and experience for work and helping people to pursue hobbies, make new friends and get involved in their local communities. To take part in this year’s Sector Pulse Check survey, visit: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YDK9NDJ
How my home lift has helped to change my life!
After a catastrophic fall from a ladder whilst putting up fairy lights with his two children in Christmas 2017, Edward Bridger-Stille was left unable to walk again. The classic car auctioneer was rushed to hospital for an eight-hour operation after rupturing his spleen, breaking five ribs, his collar bone, his wrist and his back in two places. Edward spent an agonising four weeks in and out of intensive care and a further six months in a spinal rehabilitation centre following his accident. He credited the loving and unconditional support of his family for encouraging and supporting him through these unimaginable events. On his return home, Edward’s life had changed forever. The family’s much beloved West Sussex home wasn’t accessible for a wheelchair and he was met with the difficult, life-altering decision of whether they could continue to live there. Edward said: “I didn’t want to lose my life or the house. We had to make it work for everybody.” In the hopes of restoring his independence and save uprooting his family, Edward decided to install a Cibes home lift. It’s a decision that has changed all of their lives for the better. Edward said: “I have a relatively normal life thanks to our Cibes home lift. I can go to bed, go to the bathroom and go downstairs to join my family with ease. “The children have seen me lying in a pool of blood and now they’re seeing me recuperate and live my life again.” Edward’s inspirational story is why Cibes is passionate about creating long-lasting, high quality accessibility solutions, so that people don’t have to give up their homes and can live life as independently as possible. “I’m extremely grateful to my Cibes home Lift. It’s been a real lifesaver,” Edward explained. “I wanted an external lift. It was the best option to not take up room in our home, but we really love the modern feel the lift adds to our slightly older house. “The lift we have is really aesthetically pleasing with a simple minimal design and glass surround. The lift is great quality and has proved very reliable for us.” The Cibes A5000 is a popular home choice lift, holding up to 500kg and can be installed in two to three days with fully customisable options including the ability to be adapted for outdoor installation if there is no room for a lift inside the building. Although his life has been altered forever, Edward has continued to progress in his recovery and has even returned to work in a limited capacity. Edward has also began learning how to fly and volunteering with Aerobility British Flying Charity saying: “it’s really helped me and has injected some much-needed fun back into my life.” Speak to Cibes Lift UK today about accessibility in your premises. Call 0800 085 0269 or e-mail info@Cibeslift.co.uk.
Opening event for new Adult Day Care Centre success!
The official opening of the new Adult Day Care Centre – Hwb Cyfle – was celebrated recently. Officers and members of Flintshire County Council, along with representatives from their partner organisations and local politicians, were present to mark the special occasion of the newly built Day and Work Opportunities Centre at Shotton. The new centre provides a single-storey adult day care centre specialising in community daytime facilities and social care services for vulnerable adults with varying degrees of learning disabilities. The services at the centre are operated by Hft, a charity which supports adults with learning disabilities. Hft are the preferred partner of the Council to run these services with and for us. The event included an interactive demonstration of services available and a tour of the building as well as a ceremony where a time capsule was buried in the sensory garden. Flintshire has led the way with all key partners in developing this centre which aims to better integrate health, social care and the third sector, to help empower people with learning disabilities to access more opportunities in their local community. The facility, and the service, are cutting edge in Wales. Flintshire County Council’s Chief Executive, Colin Everett, said: “The Council recognises the importance of essential services for people with a learning disability. We have allocated £4 million to building this facility, demonstrating our commitment to the future of this key service. The new building is state-of-the-art and has been enjoyed by service users, their family members and our staff since it opened its doors in June. We are so proud of our achievement and our clients love their new base. ” Hft’s Divisional Director, Andrew Horner, said: “Since partnering with Flintshire County Council over 18 months ago, our goal has been to combine our expertise to support people with learning disabilities to live the best life possible. During that time we have supported 12 people to gain employment locally and introduced a diverse range of meaningful activities to support people to engage within the local community. “The new building demonstrates Flintshire County Council’s commitment to supporting us in the delivery of positive outcomes for the people we support and will help us to further enhance services moving forward as we continue to support people locally to take control of their lives and live with more independence and choice.” The project has been delivered by Kier and Managing Director at Kier Regional Buidling North West, Peter Commins, said: “At Kier, we commit to creating wider value for people and communities in everything we do. We work hard to have a positive social impact and are thrilled we have been able to leave a lasting legacy for the people of Flintshire during the delivery of the Adult Day Care Centre in Queensferry.”
Introducing: It’s Everyones Journey.
It’s Everyone’s Journey is a campaign launched by The Department for Transport, with the aim to “make a big difference together”. The Government looks to introduce an accreditation scheme modelled on their previous Disability Confident employment programme, as part of their campaign. So far, the campaign has been backed by non-user led charities, such as Scope, Alzheimer’s Society, Parkinson’s UK as well as transport operators like British Airways, the Rail Delivery Group and LNER. However, initial support was given from Transport for All, the user-led charity which campaigns on accessible transport in London, has now decided that they shall not be an official partner. Kirsty Hoyle, the Transport for All’s chief executive stated that she was not comfortable with committing them (Transport for All) to be an official partner of this campaign, until at least, it was clear that it was not being seen as a replacement for the pledges that currently stand within the governments’ 2018 Inclusive Transport Strategy. According to the website for the new campaign, the scheme is due to be launched early next year and will provide the transport operators with the chance to “earn one of three Inclusive Transport accreditations” which will be publicly recognised with their work to improve accessibility on their services. However, this accreditation scheme doesn’t fill everyone will the most positive feeling. David Gillon is a leading critic of Disability Confident, stated that “the idea of an accreditation scheme fills me with dread”. The government’s campaign points out that disabled people are thirty per cent less likely to travel than non-disabled people, which will clearly impact their access to jobs, healthcare and a social life. It says that one in four disabled people say negative attitudes from other passengers prevent them from using public transport. And it adds: “With your support, It’s Everyone’s Journey will increase awareness of the issues faced by disabled travellers and improve their confidence to use public transport too.” It has been announced that partner organisation will be working alongside the Department for Transport to help communicate the improvements that will be happening at local and national levels in order to make public transport more accessible and inclusive for disabled people. This will be followed by an advertising campaign at the start of next year that will “challenge how we all use public transport and encourage everyone to reflect on how common, and often unconscious, behaviour can impact others”.
OmniServ trials innovative mobility aid at London Stansted airport
The Wheellator converts from walker to wheelchair, allowing PRM passengers to reclaim mobility for themselves OmniServ, the UK’s leading airline and airport assistance services provider, is partnering with London Stansted airport to trial a new mobility solution, the Wheellator, which combines the benefits of a wheeled walking frame and a light-weight wheelchair. Passengers with low to medium level mobility issues can use the frames as walkers and regain some independence, as well as get vital exercise. If they get tired, they can turn the frames round and use the Wheellator as a seat for a short rest. Or, if necessary, the Wheellator can be pushed by a relative, friend or assistant as a wheelchair, or can be moved by the user themselves. Samantha Saunders, Head of Innovation & Regulatory Compliance at OmniServ, says: “OmniServ is committed to delivering the best possible experience for all passengers at airports, including people who find it difficult to make their own way through the terminals. The great thing about the Wheellator is that it provides passengers with mobility issues the option to define and adapt the support they need, allowing them to maintain their independence.” On the decision to trial the Wheellator, Lucy Martin, Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) Manager at London Stansted Airport says: “It’s important that every passenger, regardless of any disability or assistance requirements, can travel confidently, easily and conveniently through London Stansted and we’re delighted to support OmniServ in offering this innovative new way to move more independently through the airport. We are always striving to improve the experience of travelling from London Stansted and this gives passengers another choice of assistance, if they require it, so they can relax and enjoy their time at the airport and the wide range of destinations on offer.” The Wheellator was originally developed in 2013 by manufacturer Tukimet Oy, a walking aids specialist based in Finland. It has been imported into the UK by mobility aids specialist Polymorit since 2017. Polymorit’s sales and operations director, Howard Payne, says: “The Wheellator is a tough but light-weight mobility aid, which was designed to be used outdoors and inside. Airports are a perfect environment for an adaptable aid such as the Wheellator, and we hope there will be passengers with reduced mobility who will be happy to try out an alternative to a standard wheelchair.”
Learning disability service in Stroud celebrates ‘Good’ rating
A learning disability service providing “outstandingly individualised outcomes” in Stroud has been awarded an overall rating of ‘Good’ and given an ‘Outstanding’ in one of five key areas by the Care Quality Commission. The learning disability service is run by national charity, Hft, and supports seven people to live independently in a residential setting. A published report following its inspection described the service as being “tailored to meet the needs of individuals” and found that people were “given opportunities to live a fulfilled and meaningful life.” Adult social care services are inspected by CQC to determine whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The Gloucestershire service was rated as ‘Outstanding’ in the responsive category and ‘Good’ in the other four. The report follows the success of a neighbouring Hft service in Stroud, which was rated as ‘Outstanding’ in December last year. Inspectors noted that staff members had a creative and person-centred approach to support, meaning that people were able to “exercise more control over their lives and experience greater levels of inclusion, independence and choice” and that people were empowered to be involved in the local community. An example cited in the report featured a person who was supported to carry out a litter pick after commenting on the amount of litter on the streets. They were then supported to contact the local authority and local MP to raise their concerns, leading to them carrying out a community litter pick event, which boosted their confidence and developed new skills and knowledge. Another example of people benefiting from opportunities to explore new activities and challenge themselves included a person who had been referred by their GP to a therapeutic art group. After finding out the group was to be disbanded, the person was determined it should continue and is now being supported to find a new venue, secure funding and facilitate the running of the group. As part of the inspection, feedback was gathered from supported people and their relatives who were found to be “extremely positive” about care at the service, reporting that people were supported “in a sensitive and compassionate manner by a very caring staff team.” One relative said: “It’s definitely an impressive place. They cater to everyone’s level of need.” Kathleen Howitt, Registered Cluster Manager, said: “The people we support are at the heart of everything we do and we have a brilliant staff team here who continually go the extra mile. We are delighted with our recent inspection rating, which we feel is a great reflection of our ongoing commitment to supporting people with learning disabilities to live the best life possible.”
I Wonder What it’s Like to be Dyslexic?
A graphic design graduate once labelled lazy by teachers is hoping to publish a stunning graphic novel to help people understand how people with dyslexia see the written word. Sam Barclay, who has dyslexia, graduated from the University of Portsmouth in 2013 with a first class BA in graphic design and a commendation from the International Society of Typographic Design. He went on to work with London based Make Architects, designed road bikes for UK based retailer Wiggle, and has published two graphic design books. Sam says he hopes his new book, I Wonder What it’s Like to be Dyslexic? Will help people understand visually how dyslexics experience the written word. Sam said: “About 17 per cent of the population suffers from dyslexia and I Wonder What it’s Like to be Dyslexic? will help everyone from employers to parents understand visually the personal struggles dyslexia brings. “I was inspired to write this partly because when I was at school, at parents evenings, Mum and Dad were often told by my teachers that I was lazy. Teachers would say ‘What do we do with a boy like Sam?’ and ‘We call him Lazy Bones’. Experiences like this – a common misunderstanding that many with dyslexia will recognise – are included in the book to help fellow dyslexics and parents relate to the struggles they face. “I hope the book challenges myths, creates awareness and ultimately helps stop another kid from being called ‘Lazy Bones’.” Sam’s first book, ‘I Wonder What it’s Like to be Dyslexic?’, published in 2014, received worldwide press attention and was lauded by educators for his typographic experiments in a visually stunning, large-format book. His second book, ‘I Wonder What it’s Like to be Dyslexic?’ was published in 2015. All his books have been funded via crowdfunding. To find out more and to order the book, visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sambarclay/i-wonder-what-its-like-to-be-dyslexic-iii