Disability Action Yorkshire was established in 1937; at that point, we were called The Yorkshire Association for the Care of Cripples, thankfully not a name that we kept for very long! Â The vision for the charity 37 years ago was to make life more inclusive for disabled people, many of who were living in long-stay medical institutions at the time, and whilst the way in which we do things has changed significantly, the ethos has not.
Our range of options and practical solutions include a personal assistance service which provides personal care and practical support to disabled people within their own homes, with that support being directed by the customer including times of delivery.  If a customer has been out for the night and wants assistance to bed at 2 am – that’s fine by us!
We also provide an employment support service, working with people who want to gain paid employment or need support within employment. Â Our colleagues include a dedicated employer engagement worker, employment advisors and a great team of employment support workers.
 ‘an inclusive society with no barriers – just possibilities’
Our vision is for ‘an inclusive society with no barriers – just possibilities’ with the strong recognition that inclusivity for disabled people is crucial for building a fair, just, and thriving society where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and succeed. This calls for a multifaceted approach that includes raising awareness, advocating for policy changes and being a part of creating inclusive environments.  We widely provide advice in a number of formats including working with local businesses on how they can improve access to their services, this can be anything from a full audit to advice on an overhanging hedge.  Currently, we are working with the local hospitality sector on improving their offer to disabled guests as well as working with others on an ‘accessible town’ approach.
Â
We advocate for policy change with recent and ongoing pieces of work, including lobbying for better accessible transport and challenging the lack of accessible housing provision within local plans.
The most important thing to us is that we are representing the voice of our customers, disabled people and that their views are at the forefront of any campaigning or initiatives. Â We are very active members of a number of local forums and work widely with members to ensure that we are using our collective voice to the best possible effect. In addition, 70% of our Board of Trustees and 25% of our staff have direct lived experience of disability, and as a Disability Confident Leader, we actively aim to recruit disabled people into our team whenever we can.
Â
A lot has changed since 1937; the formation of the NHS, the Equality Act, innovations in technology and the Care Act have all brought about positive changes.  However, disabled people still face challenges and barriers in every part of their lives. 50% of people in poverty are disabled or live with a disabled person, disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people, only 7% of homes in England have the most basic accessibility features, 3 out of 4 disabled people have experienced negative attitudes in the last 5 years and 44% of local authorities have no requirement for even part of a taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible – there is clearly still work to be done to achieve our vision of ‘An Inclusive Society with No Barriers – Just Possibilities’
Â
Jackie Snape
Chief Executive
Disability Action Yorkshire https://www.facebook.com/disabilityactionyorkshire
תגובות