ADVERTISEMENT

Sun, Sea and free holiday for just 2 hours work a day.

The Chairperson of Disability Direct has booked a holiday in Malta for 2 weeks starting on the 22nd September 2012. Unfortunately his normal PA is unable to travel with him, so he needs a replacement. Duties will include help with his personal care for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. Otherwise you would be free to enjoy all the facilities of the hotel.

He is 57 years old, has a spinal injury and is very independently minded.

If you are interested please contact Tina Lacey on 01332 299449 or by email Tina.Lacey@disabilitydirectderby.co.uk before the end of June 2012.

We Need You!

Are you interested in getting involved in the Derbyshire Wheelchair Service User Group?

Do  you think you could help us improve the service we offer?

Read More..

The Department for Transport have released details about the new Blue Badge parking system.

Tough new measures to crack down on drivers who abuse the disabled parking system - including a new Blue Badge design which is harder to forge - came into force on 1 January 2012.

Previously, Blue Badges were made from card and handwritten but from the start of 2012 disabled drivers will be able to apply for an electronically printed badge, much like a driving licence. The new badge will have security features such as a unique hologram, digital photo and serial number allowing parking attendants to check for genuine badges more easily through the windscreen.

The new badge is part of a wider crackdown on misuse of the scheme to ensure disabled parking spaces can only be used by those most in need.

Other measures include:

• shared administration between authorities resulting in faster renewals, less abuse and operational efficiency savings of up to £20 million a year;
• better customer service for badge holders, including being able to apply for and renew badges online using Directgov, as well as access to a new national helpline number. From April 2012 customers will also be able to report lost and stolen badges online;
• wider use of independent mobility assessments to determine eligibility. To support this local authorities will now have control of National Health Service spend on Blue Badge assessments; and
• extending the scheme to more disabled children under three years of age and severely disabled Armed Forces personnel and veterans; and removing residency requirements for disabled service personnel and their families who are posted overseas on UK bases.

It’s not all good news however as the maximum fee for a badge that local authorities can charge will rise from £2 to £10. The Derby City Council web page indicates that they will be charging £10.

Who can get a Blue Badge?

• Those in receipt of the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Allowance.
• Those whom are registered blind (severely sight impaired).
• Those who receive a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement.
• Those who have been awarded a lump sum benefit at tariffs 1-8 of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
• People may (following assessment) be issued with a badge if they drive a vehicle regularly, have a severe disability in both arms and unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking meter.
• People (following assessment) who have a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
• In addition, children under the age of three may be eligible for a badge if they fall within either or both of the following descriptions:
  • A child who, on account of a condition, must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty.
  • A child who, on account of a condition, must always be kept near to a motor vehicle so that, if necessary, treatment for that condition can be given in the vehicle or the child can be taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where such treatment can be given.

For a Blue Badge form, call 0333 200 6981, or make a request in writing at:

The Blue Badge Administration Team
Ground Floor
Saxon House
Friary Street
Derby
DE1 1NU

We are very saddened to inform people that a dear friend, both personal to many of our staff, to the organisation as a whole and to disabled people throughout the City has passed away. Cordell Jackson was a familiar and friendly face to many people in Derby, working at Derby Hospitals as a Patient Liason Officer. He was a stalwart on the Disability Direct Board for many years and was much loved by his peers and the staff team as a whole. He will be very much missed.

Willie Coppen, Chair of Derbyshire Disabled Swimming Forum has been in touch recently about some of the wonderful opportunities here in Derby for Disabled People to get involved in Swimming.

Derby Dippers is a local club run by and for disabled people which offers disabled people with a range of swimming ability and impairment to get involved in a closed session with support staff on hand.

They meet on Sunday afternoons at Moorways (main pool) between 4.30-5.30pm.

It is a fun session for Disabled Children or Adults, with Friends and Family being more than welcome to join in.

You can find more information and contact details by click the following link which will take you to the clubs entry on the Do What You Want Directory

A NEW job club has been set up to help unemployed people who are deaf.

The group, organised by the Arboretum Community Project, will run every Wednesday.

The sessions will be held at the Arboretum Café, in Arboretum Park, off Reginald Street, Derby, from 10pm until 4pm.

Support at the event will be provided by JobCentre Plus, the Deaf Employment Adviser and the Disability Employment Adviser. Interpreters will be available.

The CEO of The Disability Syndicate & Disability Direct has urged disabled & older people as well as families affected by the recent announcements about day centre service closures to look at the benefits of using Personal Budgets to buy day care and activities from a variety of sources.

Amo Raju says

Naturally there are concerns about the gaps in day care activity and respite but the closures bring an opportunity to shape your own service around your own particular needs and interests. Perhaps they do not recognise it but individuals have the power to develop their own day activities and The Disability Syndicate are on hand to encourage and develop your ideas. If your allocated budget does not stretch as far as you would like then why not join up with others and pool your funds together? We have the tools to help make your day activity idea a reality with all the support you need to get it off the ground

10 years ago a small number of disabled people did just that and created Enabled Art which today has over 60 members each week buying their own activity with on-site care. Enabled Art is now part of The Disability Syndicate who look after all the back-room functions of the group, allowing the members to carry on doing what they enjoy! Another addition to the Disability Syndicate is New Horizons who offer support to people with more complex needs.

Amo continues

As the biggest Centre for independent living in the country The Syndicate are keen to talk to individuals about what they want to do with their budget. I am happy to offer our staff to help co-ordinate this. I look forward to helping create day activities that give the power and freedom of choice back to disabled people, where it firmly belongs

A new website has been launched that provides free careers advice to adults living in Derby and Derbyshire.

The website offers local information and guidance to people seeking work or looking for a career change and includes advice on creating CVs, covering letters, self employment, links to places advertising vacancies and much, much more.

The site can be found at www.careers4adults.org

"The area is in need of some attention. The flagstones are very uneven and need relaying; the ramps to enable access for wheelchairs are too steep; the pathways and beds are overgrown. This work must be done before we can even think about planting. The costs are likely to be fairly high as contractors may be needed for the heavy work. Many new plants will be provided by the Parks gardening team who are keen to be part of the project. Others will need to be bought.

We would be very interested to hear your ideas for the development of the garden as we would hope that everyone, including those with mobility difficulties, visual difficulties, hearing difficulties and learning difficulties would find the completed sensory garden a stimulating place to visit. In addition, if you have ideas or experience concerning fund raising please contact Mags Gorman at mgorman@btinternet.com

A questionnaire concerning the project is available. Please help us by filling it in, adding any additional points that you think are not covered and returning it to one of the addresses at the end.

You can find the questionairre here

Thank you for your time."

Following on from this years most postive and enjoyable AGM of all time we are incredibly pleased to be able to publish this years Annual Report.

Below is an electronic version but if you would like it in any other alternative format please contact Donna Brady, Communications Officer on 0133 404040 or by any of our other contact points

Further down the page is a copy of the Disability Syndicate Annual review where you can find out more about our sister organisations

If you presently access an ILF and have any questions please contact;

Address

Equinox House
Island Business Quarter
City Link
Nottingham
NG2 4LA

Phone number

0845 601 8815 or 0115 945 0700

Text phone

0845 601 8816

Fax

0115 945 0945

Email address

funds@ilf.org.uk

Sledge Hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation centre. It is currently one of the most popular sports in the Winter Paralympic Games

Sledge hockey is a full contact sport played using International ice Hockey Federation Rules (IIHF). Players transport themselves along the ice by sitting in a sledge, which consists of two ice hockey blades connected to a frame, which allows the puck to pass underneath. Players sit in adapted sledges, propelling themselves with sticks adapted to allow propulsion in a manner similar to skiing.

As players are strapped to a sledge everybody has the same restrictions, regardless of whether or not the player has a disability. Sledge Hockey has just launched a GB Fast Track programme based at Sutton ice rink (J28 M1) for players from other sports who would like to try sledge hockey with a view to making the 2014 team.

Sledge Hockey was first played in the UK in 1981 and was made a Paralympic Sport in 1996. Great Britain has had teams compete at the 1996, 1998 and 2006 Paralympic games. Although currently ranked twelve in the world in 2005 GB attained their highest world ranking of 5th

Ice Sledge Hockey is played using the same rules as ice hockey and Team GB competed in the Paralympic Winter games in Turin in 2006 as well as Nagano (1998) and Lilliehammer (1994). Off-ice Sledge Hockey, officially called Inline Sledge Hockey, is a new variant of Sledge Hockey developed in the UK by the British Sledge Hockey Association and uses specially designed sledges with wheels.

There is no classification points system dictating who can be involved in play within Sledge Hockey (simply an eligibility classification for Paralympic events) unlike other team sports such as Wheelchair basketball, rugby and sitting volleyball.

Inline Sledge Hockey is being developed to allow everyone, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, to complete up to World Championship level based solely on talent and ability.

For more information please email matt@sledgehockey.co.uk