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Write for us about … negative attitudes towards disability | The people’s panel

Mark Glasgow — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:38:28 +0000

Originally posted here:
Write for us about … negative attitudes towards disability | The people’s panel

Write for us about … negative attitudes towards disability | The people’s panel

Mark Glasgow — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:38:28 +0000

Charities say the focus on alleged benefit fraud has caused an increase in abuse of disabled people. We want to hear your story Charities have warned that the government’s focus on alleged fraud and over-claiming to justify cuts in disability benefits has caused an increase in resentment and abuse directed at disabled people. Scope’s regular polling of people with disabilities shows that in September two-thirds said they had experienced recent hostility or taunts – up from 41% four months before

Letters: The benefits of a civilised society

Mark Glasgow — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:24:21 +0000

Today the welfare reform bill is expected to return to the Commons ( Report , 30 January). Under government plans, 670,000 households – two-thirds containing a disabled family member – would lose an average of £670 a year because they are deemed to have one or more additional bedrooms. Separated parents or grandparents who use their extra bedroom to share the care of their children or grandchildren; families in which two same-sex teenage children have their own bedroom for privacy and study; foster parents with rooms occupied by foster children – many, despite having nowhere else to move to, will see their incomes cut if the bill passes unamended.

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Letters: The benefits of a civilised society

Perfect 10

Mark Glasgow — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:40:52 +0000

The Secret of Long Service

August sees a significant milestone for Able Magazine’s Production Manager. He’s been with Craven Publishing for 10 years. Based on this experience, we explore the long term benefits of recruiting disabled people.
Apart from proprietor and publisher Steve Craven, Terry Gillan is the longest serving employee at Craven Publishing. It’s no real surprise given that (depending on the sector) the average workplace attrition is around 10-15% per year. It’s an achievement for any employee at any organisation in the UK but it’s even more impressive when considered in the context of the ludicrously low employment level of disabled people.

Want to work
Data published by Shaw Trust (a charity that helps disabled people to find employment) tells us that there are around 1.3 million disabled people in the UK who are not only available for work but who actually want to work. It’s a difficult puzzle to solve then as to why only 50% of disabled people of working age are in employment compared with upwards of 80% of non-disabled people.

Let’s be (necessarily) realistic then. There are employers that cannot imagine taking on a disabled person. Terry proves what flawed thinking that represents. The job that Terry does is to be the ‘go to man’ for advertisers filing new copy for the magazine or needing to check anything from size and spec to deadlines. It’s probably a natural correlation to like what you’re good at and to be good at what you like to do. This summary also fits. Again, this is rare amongst the UK workforce given that according to online recruitment service: Monster, a mere 15% of people actually ‘like their job’.

Maybe it’s because Terry, as with many disabled people actually gets ‘stuck in’. During what amounts to ‘long service’ Terry has, in the course of his duties for Able Magazine tested numerous gadgets and gizmos for our product pages, given us the benefit of his expertise in wheelchair basketball and even learnt how to fly a light aeroplane for our ‘Get Active’ column. For the most part he hasn’t considered these tasks onerous. In fact much of that stuff has been fun but its Terry that continually puts himself forward for these projects. For him the job helps to define his character and personality: versatile, determined and generous in spirit. Readers of Able Magazine will realise that these are qualities found anywhere where disabled people congregate. If only employers would consider the fact that living with a disability in a largely non-disability world makes what they might call ‘workplace stress’ look like a cakewalk.

Statistics
Before disabled people even get to the job market there can be problems they have to overcome. No UK government has yet thought up a decent way to give children an ‘ideal’ education. No UK government has got close to such a theory with disabled children in mind. The statistics are damning with 23% of disabled people leaving school without qualifications compared with just 9% of non-disabled people. Of course, this immediately puts them in a weaker position than other candidates looking for a job.

Terry wasn’t quite in that position as a school leaver. In fact after leaving school he completed a National Certificate (NC) in computing. He embarked on the Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Computing but withdrew after his father unexpectedly passed away. “After that I took some time out, maybe a year and a half” he tells me.

At this point Terry started to look at his options. “I was just wondering about what to do. I got in touch with a disability employment advisor at the Job Centre who is there to help you find work. It just so happened that at the first time of trying, they had heard from Steve (Craven) who was looking for somebody and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Positive outcomes
Any employer that works with disabled people is likely to be able to share positive stories about good attendance and a genuine desire to work with enthusiasm and of course, this all agrees with the statistics produced on the subject. What statistics can’t explain are the human and psychological variables (again all positive) that take place. It’s a truism that employing disabled people is fair, is the right thing to do. As a result it seems that some form of employer Karma takes hold as good things begin to happen. Diversity means that your workers can relate to the general population (also known as ‘customers’) more thoroughly. With 20% of the UK population living with a form disability it is nothing more than common sense to have people on board who understand how they feel, how they react and crucially, how they buy things. Diversity also means that the organisation benefits from difference in understanding, perspective, life experience and ideas. This is a competitive advantage that narrow minded employers don’t have (and arguably don’t deserve).

When Terry first applied for the vacancy at Craven Publishing the job description was still fairly vague as Terry explains: “At the time he maybe thought that I might be a writer because he asked me to do a piece and send it in to him. I think I did something along the lines of a disabled person going out for a night on the town. This is 10 years ago so I was explaining the difficulties of trying to get into places and things like that. I sent it in and I got the job. I came in on a six month placement at first. During those six months I was basically getting trained up on Photoshop and Quark (magazine software) which we used at the time.” The point is that although Steve had an idea that Terry would be good at managing the advertising copy flow and he also realised and valued his viewpoint as a disabled person. To this end Terry isn’t unique as Craven Publishing continues to recruit towards a diverse working team. That’s why on every piece of craven Publishing headed paper the ‘two ticks’ logo is prominently placed next to our contact details. This is a logo that commits to being ‘positive about disabled people’ and is regarded as the symbol disabled people should look for when searching for an employer. If it stands for anything, it’s simply that the company in question has the right attitude towards inclusion.

Beyond just ticking a box and employing a ‘token disabled person’ Craven has helped Terry play to his strengths and as a result have got the best out of him as an employee. Perhaps it’s because of this management style that Terry has remained so staunchly loyal, saying: “Because I’ve been here for so long, I don’t see me ever leaving here. I would work here for as long as I could really.” Again, thinking back 10 years to his interview Terry says something that I didn’t expect: One of the questions that Steve asked me was, ‘if you saw a copy of Able in a shop, would you buy it?’ I said, ‘no I wouldn’t’, not because it’s a disability magazine but because it just wasn’t the sort of thing I was into.” We (Craven Publishing) started to make it more of a lifestyle magazine from then on. I wanted to help with that. I suppose working on a disability magazine was a chance to try to get your point across and make a difference. It (Able) is definitely something that I read now.”

Adaptations and adjustments
It does seem that in this case, there have been adaptations made on both sides (employee and employer) that have contributed to development for each, as Terry explains: “I’ve obviously seen the company grow from just four or five people to what it is today. I’ve seen it make that whole journey: it’s been good. It’s a great place to work.
Because I work here (and see the magazine come together) I realise that there are a lot of jobs out there for disabled people that I might not have realised were available. I thought my options were limited. Being here I have seen, just by what Able have covered that there are a lot more opportunities out there.”

There were also physical adaptations needed for Craven to make their then premises fully accessible. These were completed with help from the ‘Access for Work’ scheme that gives funds for this very purpose where adjustments to buildings and the like are required.

Terry has proven that despite a less than ideal start and a few bumps along the way that he, along with thousands of other disabled people have a great deal to offer. As for his advice, based on his own background and 10 good years at Craven Publishing working on Able Magazine; it’s simple: “Don’t listen to negative teachers.”

Forget the Ricky Gervais ‘mong’ row, disabled people need action

Mark Glasgow — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:08:23 +0000

The recent furore over the comedian’s use of the word mong obscures the real issues around disability rights and benefit cuts Ricky Gervais has now apologised for his use of the word mong on Twitter. The golden boy of comedy, who’s been responsible for some painfully truthful and funny representations of disability on TV in the past (think The Office and Extras), has listened to the debates by campaigners such as Nicky Clark and many others and has responded with an apology. So what can we learn from Mong-gate?

Excerpt from:
Forget the Ricky Gervais ‘mong’ row, disabled people need action

Could the Paralympics leave a golden legacy for disabled workers?

Mark Glasgow — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:41:45 +0000

Paralympic campaigners and organisers hope the Games will decisively change perceptions of what disabled people can achieve – on the field and in the workplace Bwerani Francis, 18, is midway through a garage mechanic’s course. Nadia Kabir is 19 and wants to be a receptionist

Excerpt from:
Could the Paralympics leave a golden legacy for disabled workers?

Positive action schemes are not perfect – but they are making a difference | Kamilla Baiden

Mark Glasgow — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:06:32 +0000

People who think such programmes are unfair need to appreciate the wider picture about minority backgrounds What is diversity? We hear it in the news on a daily basis: in education, the workplace, sport and the media

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Positive action schemes are not perfect – but they are making a difference | Kamilla Baiden

The evidence is growing that the cuts are savagely targeting disabled people

Mark Glasgow — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:08:24 +0000

A Papworth Trust survey is the latest to reveal grave concerns at the government’s handling and understanding of disability benefit reforms Earlier this year, Scope conducted a survey showing that of the proposed £90bn cuts, £9bn will fall upon disabled people . This week’s survey results from disability charity the Papworth Trust add to weight to claims that disabled people are the hardest hit

Disabled face increasing hostility from strangers, survey finds

Mark Glasgow — Tue, 17 May 2011 11:16:32 +0000

A disabled protester during last week's London march against cuts to disability services. Photograph: Sarah Lee

Disabled people have faced greater hostility from the public since the government launched its controversial benefits reforms, according to a survey by a leading charity.

A majority said that they experienced hostility, discrimination and even physical attacks from strangers every week and more than a third claimed the position had worsened over the previous 12 months.

Victims blame ministers for portraying all people with disabilities as scroungers as they seek to cut the number of people on disability benefits, including the 2.9 million people in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA) and the 1.9 million people deemed physically unable to work currently given incapacity benefit.

The government has presented changes, including the introduction of medical and psychological tests for those claiming the allowance, as a way of getting tough on people who are cheating the system. But Scope, a charity for disabled people, which commissioned the survey, said there was powerful evidence that the “backdrop of negativity” behind the cuts was leading to a rise in hostility and even violence towards some of the most vulnerable in society.

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Disabled face increasing hostility from strangers, survey finds

Disabled people face abuse and threats of violence after fraud crackdown

Mark Glasgow — Tue, 17 May 2011 10:44:29 +0000

Disabled people have faced greater hostility from the general public since the government launched its controversial benefits reforms, according to a survey by a leading charity.

A majority said that they experienced hostility, discrimination or even physical attacks from strangers on a weekly basis and more than a third claimed the situation had become worse in the previous 12 months.

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Disabled people face abuse and threats of violence after fraud crackdown

The work capability assessment is a genuine source of anguish | Lucy Glennon

Mark Glasgow — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:13:08 +0000

Disabled people would love to be healthy and working, yet the government’s new medical test is sapping our last bit of energy Around the country, letters are landing on the doormats of recipients of incapacity benefit. The benefit, which is for people who cannot work through illness or disability, is changing to employment and support allowance . All those who receive the benefit are going to be reassessed for it through a questionnaire and a work capability assessment, which has already been described as “a complete mess” by the man who helped to design it, Professor Paul Gregg .

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The work capability assessment is a genuine source of anguish | Lucy Glennon

We should not get too pious about MPs’ treatment of Paul Maynard | Michael White

Mark Glasgow — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:13:05 +0000

I wasn’t present in the Commons chamber when Paul Maynard, the new Tory MP for Blackpool North, was apparently mocked for his way of speaking. He was born with cerebral palsy.

But I don’t think we should get too pious about the incident, as the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, is being encouraged to. It happened three months ago.

Maynard did not complain at the time. Labour whips who realised that jeering backbenchers did not know they were heckling a man’s disability took steps to ensure it didn’t happen again.

A small incident – not much damage, surely? Except that an enterprising reporter on the Times got hold of the story and the paper decided to make a meal of it under the mistaken impression that it was a slow news day.

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We should not get too pious about MPs’ treatment of Paul Maynard | Michael White

The upside of living with Asperger’s | Yousif Nur

Embreyhi36 — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:00:11 +0000

At a very early age I knew I was somehow different from the others. An unexplainable difference in behaviour, idiosyncrasies and just having bags more energy than other toddlers. Couple that with numerous trips to different psychiatrists asking why I had frequent tantrums and crying fits, and was very antisocial with other schoolkids. Something was mostly definitely wrong with me. My parents were unnerved by it. It was not so much that I had a problem with myself but, rather, a question mark tattooed on my forehead. I was lost in a limbo of myself. And so it went on for a number of years.

See more here:
The upside of living with Asperger’s | Yousif Nur

Broadcasters Back Disability Initiative

Paul — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:40:01 +0000

ProductionBase, the industry’s online network for freelancers working in TV, film and commercial production announced has launched a new search tool making it easier for broadcasters and production companies to find disabled freelancers while keeping the information discreet to make sure there is no discrimination.

The initiative has been endorsed by the BBC, Channel 4, PACT, ITV and disability campaigners within the industry.

The Network Manager for the Broadcasting and Creative Industries Disability Network (BDIDN), Clare Morrow, said: “We know that disabled people are significantly under-represented in the television industry, both on and off screen, but we also know that broadcasters and independent production companies are keen to change that.
“This new tool from Production Base will ensure that companies looking for production talent can target opportunities towards known disabled talent to ensure that they get an equal chance to apply for the work on offer, and that is a great step forward,” she added.

Nikki Fox started her TV career as trainee researcher on Channel 4’s Production Training Scheme and has worked on programmes including How to Look Good Naked, she also presented How to Look Good Naked…with a Difference.

“I think it’s an absolutely fabulous idea and a bit of a bonus for someone disabled like myself as it might help me get more work if an employer is specifically looking for a disabled freelancer,” she said.

More: www.productionbase.co.uk

Charity in Search for New Trustees

editor — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:23:21 +0000

Award winning Compass Disability Services are looking for new Trustees to help keep them pointing in the right direction.

The Somerset-based charity, who were recently named Third Sector Employer of the Year at the South West Skills Awards ceremony, are seeking people with a range of skills who would be committed to their mission, values and aims.

The Trustees would be expected to ensure the organisation complies with its governing document, charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation.

They would also use their skills, knowledge and experience to help the Board of Trustees reach sound decisions for the future of Compass Disability Services, who facilitate a number of projects across Somerset.

Cathy Magill, Chair of the Board of Trustees said: “We are always looking for committed people to bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the Board. Compass Disability Services has changed beyond recognition in the past 10 years and now delivers projects and provides services that benefit thousands of disabled people across the South West. I am really proud to have been a part of this incredible development.”

Compass Disability Services are a user led organisation whose Board of Trustees, which is elected by their users, is comprised of at least 80% disabled people.

Applicants must be available to commit 15 days per year, which will include committee meetings, training and special events.

For more information or an application pack, please contact Paula Ingrey on 0330 333 0089 or paula@compassdisability.org.uk