Members have given talks on Equality 2025 to user-led organisations. We have also attended conferences to find out more about independent living issues, and written articles and given interviews to publicise Equality 2025. By doing all of these things we are building contacts with disabled people and others who it is important that we talk to.
Our main objective of talking to disabled people's organisations is to identify barriers and solutions to independent living.
In particular, members has taken an interest in recommendation 4.3 of the 'Life Chances' report. This says that there should be a 'user-led organisation' in every locality by 2010. It says that these organisations should be modelled on Centres for Independent Living, which are service providers controlled by disabled people, and provide the following kinds of services:
Equality 2025 members have written a paper for the Department of Health, suggesting ideas of how disabled people's organisations could be set up, developed and sustained so that they are better able to play their key role in supporting independent living.
We have also sought to work with and influence the independent living review, launched July 2006 'to identify imaginative and practical solutions to support independent living for disabled people'. The review takes a life course approach, from young people in transition to adulthood and including older people.
The independent living review is a cross-government project led by the Office for Disability Issues. A plan about how independent living could be available to disabled people over the next five years will be available on the ODI website soon.
Members involved in this area of work are Nick Danagher (convenor), Michelle Daley, Clenton Farquharson, Tara Flood, Rowen Jade and Eleanor Lisney.
If you would like to suggest an idea or make a comment to central Government about the above, or if you would like to talk about any other independent living issue that you think the Government could do something about, please contact us: info@equality2025.org
Independent living, links and useful information:
Page last reviewed: 11 August 2008
