We are getting nearer the excitement that will be the disabled people’s carnival in wolverhampton.

You can see photos from the workshops where disabled people are working on their headresses, banners, and learning drumming here>>

You can also look at the facebook page here>>

You DO NOT have to be a member of facebook to go have a look

One Voice was involved along with many disabled people, in putting forward suggestions to make the new bus station less of a barrier for disabled people.

The project was called The Interchange Project – because it was supposed to enable passengers to easily change from bus to train to metro (if the Metro ever gets the funding to extend).

On the day the bus station opened, many passengers found that their bused no longer stopped at the bus station – there was no interchange at all – just a chaos of buses outside the Art Gallery. So now, many people have to go much further to get to the train station than before. Perhaps the project should have been called the ignoring-the-passengers project.

Not content with making this change, the bus company decided to changes the numbers and routes of most buses. There was a leaflet about these changes that came out 2 weeks before – so people had some notice. The leaflet though, was not called “changes to bus service” it was called “a fresh start”, so most bus users didn’t pick it up. The changes in number and service have been condusing to every passenger we have met on buses.

Now we have the passenger-unfriendly situation of more buses stopping or waiting in Lichfield street than there is room for. So some stop away from the bus stop, or change which end of the bus shelter they stop at, because of lack of space – this makes it much more difficult for blind and visually impaired and mobility impaired people to use the bus – it is also very stressful for all bus users. Sometimes, a bus will stop in the right place, and the driver will get out and passengers have to wait for a new driver.

This isn’t a fresh start, it is a fresh hell, and it seems to have been done without any consultation with passengers. It has made huge new barriers to using the bus service for many disabled people and others.

It is not the way to make sustainable change.

From London Disabled People’s Advisory committee

The Supreme Court has ruled in support of Kensington and Chelsea council’s withdrawal of overnight care to Elaine McDonald to save money. This will mean she will have no choice but to wear pads, although this is undignified and against her express wishes. Male judges are undermining a woman’s right to choose how she is helped with personal care.

The ruling has accepted that reviewing care plans can be treated as a reassessment of need. Therefore any contact with social services, even a phone call, could lead to detrimental changes to a disabled person’s care package.

The idea that privacy and independence can best be facilitated by dispensing with personal assistants or care workers at night was also supported by the Supreme Court. This is contrary to the government’s Independent Living Strategy, and undermines everything we have fought for as a disabled people’s movement for the last forty years. Personal assistance is vital to many disabled people’s independence and safety. Disabled people with complex health and social care needs who cannot move unaided should never be left alone at night in case of a fire or a sudden deterioration in their condition.

Disabled people, family carers, personal assistants, women, pensioners, community activists and trade unionists should come to the lobby to support Elaine and oppose this disgraceful ruling. Elaine’s overnight care should be restored immediately. A defeat for Elaine is a defeat for us all.

Contact ADKC on 0208 960 8888 or at pbsupport@adkc.org.uk

Contact HAFCAC on 07899 752 877 or at hafcac@hotmail.co.uk

Contact DPAC at mail@dpac.uk.net or visit our web site at www.dpac.uk.net

Contact WinVisible on 0207 482 2496 (voice & minicom) or at win@winvisible.org

We have all had difficulty with the buses or trains or shops or buildings at some point, because a service or venue isn’t set up in an accessible way.

But now you can be part of some research to show how bad the problem is – or how much its improved!

Continue Reading

The Government announced yesterday that one of the things they will be looking at is abuse of Blue badge parking permits.
Disabled people have often commented that they seem to be used by non-disabled people, who take up spaces close to an entrance that they need, so this review should be welcomed.
It is especially important that they look at the whole system, since recently a man diagnosed as terminally ill was refused a blue badge. see the full story here>>

Disabled young people aged 4-18 are welcome to bring friends and family and come along and join in the fun on
Thursday 24th February
10am-4pm

There are free drop in workshops for you to have a go, including:
Continue Reading

One Voice member Ann Mathews has a petition of interest to disabled people on the Government petitions website here:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FreeDisabledSwim/

The petition reads:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to extend the
free swim programme to include disabled people.

Disabled people have various kinds of problems that can limit
their mobility, however swimming or simply being in the water
can be enjoyed by everyone. It is a great fitness tool and can
change people’s mood. However it is very expensive which can
stop disabled people from being able to join in, so by
extending the free swim program we can make life a little
easier for disabled people and their carers.

If you agree, go to the link above and sign the petition!

If you want to know what’s happening with health and social care developments in your area, there are open days around Wolverhampton:

South West Area    Wednesday 24 February 2010    2 pm to 7 pm

Bantock Park, Finchfield Road, Wolverhampton

North East    Thursday 25 February 2010     2 pm to 7 pm

The Church of Good Shepherd, Second Avenue, Lowhill

South East    Friday 26 February 2010        2 pm to 7 pm

The Bilston Town Hall, Bilston

City Centre    Saturday 27 February 2010     10 am to 3 pm

Mander Centre, City Centre, Wolverhampton

For more details contact Cath Cunningham on 01902 444757 or e-mail Cath.Cunningham@wolvespct.nhs.uk or Heather Mytton-Sanneh on 01902 551461 or e-mail Heather.Mytton-Sanneh@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Leonard Cheshire Campaigns team are launching an access campaign and want disabled people’s help.

They are calling on disabled people who take photos or do designs or artwork to produce some images that help show the access problems disabled people face every day, and they will judge the best entry.

If you want to send in an entry go here>>>>

If you want to fill out some access surveys, go here>>>

If you want to do some access work with One Voice, contact us

This is my favourite story of the year so far, and I’m going to try to make it relate in some way to disabled people:

A woman in Plymouth wondered where her cat kept disappearing – at the same time every morning, he’d leave the house, and be gone for hours – he never came when called during this time, and his whereabouts remained a mystery, until it was revealed that he caught the bus into the city every morning, and home again before lunch.

Bus drivers reported that they made sure his seat was reserved so he wasn’t inconvenienced in his daily journey!

Cat on a bus

And how to make this relate to disabled people?
Well if bus drivers took care to see that we had a seat before driving off, it would not be nearly as difficult for disabled people with mobility difficulties to catch the bus.