Winter Newsletter 2015 - Kingston Centre for Independent Living

Support Broker
CEO
Autism Care
Heritage 2 Health
AWT
Support Brokerage
Ann Macfarlane
Fish
Out On The River
Independent
Good Neighbour
Supporter
Transport
Holidays
That sign
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Music
Therapy
Taxicard
SEND
Blind
Man’s Blood
Ann
Macfarlane
Sports
& Activities
SDS
Meeting
VI Parliament
Healthy Workplace
New Website
Wheelchairs,
Prams and Buses
IDDP
Summer
Winter
2014
2014
edition
edition
Kingston
Kingston Independent
Independent
Newsletter for Kingston Centre For Independent Living
Message from the CEO Lisa Ehlers
I was delighted to be appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Kingston Centre
for Independent Living (KCIL) in September. The past few months have been very
exciting and eventful as KCIL looks to continue their vital work in the Royal Borough
of Kingston (RBK) and to extend our partnership working with organisations with
similar values and beliefs.
KCIL’s annual general meeting highlighted the work we have been doing over the
past year and strengthened our partnership working with statutory and voluntary
services in the local area. The event was held on 21st October at the Holiday Inn in
Kingston. The first speaker was Keith Valentine from the Pocklington Trust, who we
have been working with on the visual impairment parliament in Kingston. He spoke
about the new work in Kingston with regards to improving education, health, transport,
social care and employment opportunities for visually impaired people. Simon
Pearce, executive head of adult social care for RBK, discussed The Care Act 2015
and its implications for our members as well as opportunities for partnership working in
the future. Cathy Maker, CEO from the Richmond Users Independent Living Scheme
(RUILS), spoke about our new partnership working with Richmond on the new
Independent Supporters Project funded by the Council for Disabled Children. KCIL
began work on the new Independent Supporters Project with Richmond disability
organisations RUILS and Richmond AID (RAID) in September.
As part of my role as CEO, I have been representing the interests of disabled people
on various boards and forums as well as developing links within the local voluntary
sector, adult services, Achieving for Children (AIC) and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). KCIL continues to work with RBK to plan for the future of the
Self-Directed Support (SDS) Service which we have been told will be going out to
tender sometime in 2015. We are also developing new links with other organisations
with similar values and goals in order to identify other funding opportunities and
areas of need in the local area.
Over the past six months, KCIL has been working with Kingston’s CCG on personal health
budgets and the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) pilot project. We
have supported adults and children and their families to take control of their own
budgets, write their own plans and to choose their own personal assistants.
We would like to welcome our new worker, Jane Ferrier-May, who will be working
with children and families on the new education, health and care plans. We would
also like to welcome our new support broker, Joanna Aleksy, who began as support
broker for the City Bridge Brokerage Project in October. You will find more about
both of them later on in the newsletter.
I look forward to meeting more of our members and working with you to improve
our services and raise the profile of KCIL in the New Year.
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Heritage2Health at Leith Hill
On the 11th of December the Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL) and
Kingston Eco–Op users attended another event organised by Heritage2Health. On
this very cold day, we got on a minibus at the KCIL office and went to the beautiful
Leith Hill near Dorking, with an open fire in every room, amazing views and very friendly
people around us.
We started off by making some Christmas decorations with help from volunteers from
the Kingston University School of Nursing followed by storytelling and Christmas Carol
singing. The day finished off with a delicious afternoon tea, a few more stories and
taking selfies of everyone who came. The photos will tell you all you need to know.
Massive thank you to Heritage2Health for inviting us.
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Support Brokerage
Joanna Aleksy, a trained and experienced support broker, joined the team in
October and is providing an independent brokerage service. Joanna took over
from Sophie Marshall who was our previous broker.
This service supports individuals in receipt of Personal Budgets or Direct Payments
to make the best use of their money so they can get the most out of it. Among the
things Joanna can help with are:
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employing a reliable Personal Assistant or agency to support you with your needs
benefit advice
free services available in Kingston
education courses
advocacy services
carer’s support groups
peer support
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Information and signposting to other services
A word from Fish insurance
Founded in 1975 specifically to assist people with disabilities or mobility issues, Fish
pioneered “Independent Living Insurance” the cover that protects people who
make use of direct payments or other personal budget mechanisms to employ their
own personal assistants.
A great example of a policy developed in consultation with disabled people
themselves, their full cover policy not only offers the liability protection which is
a legal necessity but around the clock access to specialist employment law,
human resources and health and safety advice. “Direct payments have been a
game-changer for many people, really liberating, but they do carry with them their
own risks,” explains John Garrard, Managing Director. “Overnight, people go from
being passive service uses (recipients of council services) to commissioners of their
own care as employers. In legal terms, that’s a massive shift as they must assume
the same responsibilities and satisfy the same legislative requirements as many small
businesses.”
The aim of Fish’s independent living policy is not just to offer straightforward insurance
protection but to help policyholders avoid getting themselves into tricky situations
by inadvertently breaching for example discrimination or working time laws. It was
designed specifically to meet the challenges presented by the changed environment
brought about by reform of social care provision.
Some of the many benefits included in the Full Cover Independent Living insurance
policy are:
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24-hour support from the UK’s leading provider of employment law and health and safety services
Up to £10 million employment liability insurance cover
Up to £5 million public liability cover
Redundancy cover
Protection against theft by an employee
Replacement Personal Assistant (PA) cover
Protection against breaches of Health & Safety at Work, Defective Premises and Data Protection legislation
Cover for errors and omission by an employee
Personal accident insurance
Independent Living insurance is just one of a variety of policies offered by Fish who
also provide specialist car, travel and home insurance, alongside cover for manual
wheelchairs, powered wheelchairs, mobility scooters and in-home products such as
stair lifts and hoists.
To find out more, visit the Fish Insurance website: www.fishinsurance.co.uk or
contact their friendly team of advisers on 0500 432 141.
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Independent Supporter
Jane joined KCIL in September. She completed KCIL induction training and the
National Council for Disabled Children’s Independent Supporter training within her
first few weeks at the organisation.
Jane’s role as an Independent Supporter includes providing advice and support for
parents of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and young people with
SEN through the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) processes.
Jane can help parents and young people to understand the local referral process
and the local offer. She can act on behalf of parents as a named contact person
throughout the EHC assessment and planning process. She can help with transferring
a Statement of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA) in to an EHC plan.
Jane will work with young people and their parents to create a one page profile for
the child or young person. She will also support parents, young people and professionals to liaise across a range of local services in order to devise a holistic plan for
children and young people.
Jane’s role also includes providing parents and young people with information
about personal budgets and signposting them to our Self-Directed Support (SDS)
Service if they would like to manage their own budgets. She will also refer to other
services if the issue is outside of her remit.
Jane’s role is independent from the local authority which enables her to provide
impartial information and advice to young people and their families.
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Holidays and Holiday Grants
What is it?
KCIL administers a fund on behalf of Royal
Borough of Kingston which enables disabled
people who are resident in the Borough to take
holidays. The maximum amount of grant that can
be offered is currently £200.
To qualify for a grant, an applicant must:Be a resident of the Royal Borough of Kingston.
Have a long term and substantial illness or impairment that is likely to last 12 months or more,
which severely affects daily life.
Be aged over 16.
How do I apply?
For an application form contact Robert Reilly,
KCIL, River Reach, High Street, Kingston, Surrey
KT1 1LF. Tel: 020 8546 9603 or visit our website to
download an application form: www.kcil.org.uk
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Music Therapy Sessions at the Hook Centre
There is a Music Therapy Service running at the Hook Centre in Chessington which began
in February 2014 with the Richmond Music Trust, in partnership with the Kingston Music
Service. The Hook Centre is a welcoming community centre with a café, library and a
well-equipped Music Therapy room upstairs.
Music Therapy can be helpful for anyone with
disabilities who is experiencing any difficulties such
as anxiety, depression, challenging behaviours
or who might be finding it hard to communicate
with others. Sessions offer a private space to
feel empowered, where each individual is
encouraged to express themselves and is offered
emotional support by the therapist. Taking part in
Music Therapy helps support positive change and
enables people to reach their full potential. It builds
confidence and encourages physical, emotional,
mental and social wellbeing.
The Music Therapy Studio offers a range of instruments including drums, many smaller
percussion instruments, the guitar and the piano, and individuals will also be supported
to use their singing voice. No previous musical experience will be necessary as the
Richmond Music Trust’s therapists are trained to enable everyone to make their own
music, using the instruments of their choice.
Sessions can either be 1:1 with the therapist or in small groups of 4-6 people. There are
also opportunities for one-off workshops including drumming circles and vocal groups.
The Richmond Music Trust will be offering some free assessment sessions at the start of
2015 so please get in touch with Andreas Rosenboom (Head of Richmond Music Trust) on
020 8744 8097 or andreasr@richmondmusictrust.org.uk.
SEND
The Kingston Centre for Independent Living have been running the Special Educational
Needs and Disabilities (SEND) pilot on behalf of Achieving for Children throughout the
Kingston Borough for the last few months. Our Support Broker, Sophie Marshall, has been
engaging with families to look at their personal budgets and consider the best way of
spending this money to appropriately meet each child’s individual needs.
So far the biggest achievement of the pilot is supporting a family to implement a personal
health budget. As it stands the plan will allow the family to fund a 20% increase in hours
weekly, including a full night shift with familiar staff, and access for the child to attend
weekly hydrotherapy sessions with his PA. This has all been developed with no additional
funding required.
The other plans we will be looking to take to panel shortly are mainly concerned with
looking at new ways to use the social care direct payment. Many families have reported
finding this source of funding vital to their family wellbeing, but believe there should be
more flexibility in how it is used. We are currently working with families who are seeking to
use this funding for activities that will support their children to engage with their peers as
opposed to an adult being employed to take their child out.
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KCIL will be in discussions with the CCG about maintaining the service in the New Year. So
hopefully we will be working to support these families on a more permanent basis in the future.
Letter from our Patron, ANN MACFARLANE OBE
Dear Readers
There are exciting times ahead and tough times too. Kingston’s statutory and third
sector organisations are beavering away at providing integrated health and social
care services in order to fulfil people’s expectations and preferred choices. Also
being discussed in organisations, are plans for the implementation of The Care Act
2015 which comes into force in April 2015 in an economic situation that is exercising
the minds of those who are expected to make cuts while maintaining services to
users and potential service users. What could result are innovative services more
closely in alignment to what service users are requesting or have suggested at
various service user meetings.
This leads me on to say how important your input is in ensuring these changes are
what you need to live a fulfilled life. Your views are vital at a time when organisations
are really seeking your ideas and expertise and when we need to co-produce
information and services. However, it is not enough to express views. People need
to know what action is being developed to bring about appropriate services and
to have those services monitored and evaluated. We need to support KCIL in their
role of listening to and acting upon your suggestions. KCIL would also like to have
your report back on any meetings you attend that relate to changes in health and
social care provision as well as leisure, education, employment, physical access
and transport. The issues that affect our lives are far reaching and we need people
who have direct experience. This includes carers whose issues may differ from those
of disabled people and are important to identify in individual and personalised
assessments and care plans. KCIL also needs people willing to attend meetings on
their behalf. You can expect to be briefed before you go to meetings so you feel
confident that you are putting forward a collective view as well as any other relevant
issues that may affect you. KCIL would like to hear from you if you would like to
become a member or are already a member and would like to volunteer.
Please help us to help you; we cannot do it all and we want to ensure people can
maintain or improve their independence.
With good wishes for 2015.
Ann
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SDS User Group Meeting
On the 9th December 2014, we held the Self – Directed Support (SDS) User Group Meeting.
We started with teas and coffees and a few introductions.
The first speaker was Giles Read from Warm Home, Better Health. He was talking about
the service they offer which includes a free home check for people over the age of 65
or people with a long–term illness or disability. Anyone who meets the criteria can
self–refer to the project which is funded by the Royal Borough of Kingston until March
2015. The service offers free radiator panel reflectors, free water saving devices, free loft
and cavity wall insulation, referrals for heating grants for people on certain benefits
and free advice on how to stay warm for less this winter. If you would like to benefit from
this service, please call 0800 118 2327 for more information.
Our second speakers were Nicola and Kate from the Transport Police. They spoke about
keeping safe in your home and when going out and about. They also said that the
Transport Police and Transport for London will be running a safer bus route “First Route”
in the new year where disabled people can take part in trial bus routes around Kingston
and Surbiton and practice getting on and off busses and dealing with difficult situations
such as drunk people on the bus or what to do in an emergency.
Just before our lunch, we had our Christmas quiz and a draw for the SDS User feedback
questionnaire. The winners were Colin Shearwood and Saranyan Thiruppathy.
We finished off with Lisa Ehlers our CEO updating everyone on a feedback regarding SDS
services.
We would like to thank our speakers and our users for joining us on that day and hope
that everyone had as much fun as we did.
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The Launch of the Royal Borough of Kingston’s VI Parliament
The Visually Impaired (VI) Parliament was created through the early 2013 Kingston’s Vision
Strategy Group. Their aim was to assess the services available for people with sight loss
and through this, the idea of Kingston having the first ever VI Parliament was born. The VI
Parliament hope to be able to continue this good work by establishing good relationships
with many different businesses and organisations within Kingston as well as the general
public.
The VI Parliament was officially launched on 1st September 2014 with the support of the
Thomas Pocklington Trust who have been at the forefront of bringing the idea of a VI
Parliament to reality.
Through the VI Parliament, the MPs will try and improve the level of service and experience when those with a visual impairment need to engage with either the health or
social care providers, the Department of Works and Pensions, when seeking employment
and social opportunities and safer Travel within the Kingston Borough. The VI Parliament
will be holding monthly group meetings when the MPs will meet to discuss any issues that
have been raised. There will also be quarterly public meetings the first of which will be on
Friday 13th February 2015 at 1pm to 2pm and we welcome all visually impaired people
to please come along and let us hear any issues or even offer some ideas on what you
would like realised within your local community.
Although the MPs who will be working on your behalf have a visual impairment and
probably come across services that could be improved, at the end of the day, we would
encourage all those who either have a visual impairment or if anyone reading this article
knows of someone with a visual impairment, whether through your work of socially to get
in touch.
The VI Parliament MPs are:
Austin Graham - Transport
Gloria Tripi - Health
Charlie Tavener - Leisure and social activities and events
Elise Crayton – Employment
Maureen Wing - Education
Aims of the VI Parliament
The aims of the VI Parliament can be summed up by the word SIGHT as follows:
Support - to offer support to people with a visual impairment and raise awareness.
Inspire - to inspire those with a visual impairment so that they can achieve many of
their goals whether this be through education, employment or living independently.
Gather - the VI Parliament, with the help of the visually impaired community, want
to gather information therefore improving services within our community.
Highlight – to highlight where improvements can be made to all relevant organisations
and services such as health, transport, employment, education, social care
and Leisure.
Teach – to teach awareness of visual impairment and how this affects those living in
a sighted world.
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Healthy Workplace Award
Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL) has been awarded a certificate of
Commitment from the Greater London Authority for implementing its Healthy
Workplaces Charter. They had raised awareness of Health and Wellbeing Good
Practice in the workplace including, Healthy Lifestyles, Health and Safety at Work and
Attendance Management, by meeting certain criteria.
The staff held meetings and events to illustrate how they met the eight areas of
criteria. They collated and put together an ‘evidence file’ which was then taken to
an event held at City Hall on London’s Southbank earlier this year where our activities
and evidence were verified to see if we met the Charter standard. A few days later
we were informed that we had successfully met all the Charter standards.
On Monday 24th November two staff members, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lisa
Ehlers and Office Manager Robert Reilly, attended an awards ceremony at City Hall
on London’s Southbank, where they and representatives of 20 other organisations,
including Kingston Voluntary Action, were presented with their award certificates.
KCIL to launch new website in 2015
After several months of development we are excited to announce the launch of
our newly designed website in January 2015. We hope you will find it easier to navigate.
The new site has been designed to be user friendly on mobile devices, so you can
look us up on tablet or on your mobile phone.
The new site will include details about our Trustees Board and updated profiles for
all the staff. You can also find information on each of the projects that KCIL runs.
As well as our own news, you will find useful articles on disability related issues and
links to other organisations who support or assist disabled people. There are also all
the downloadable resources such as holiday grant application forms, membership
forms and our newsletters.
Please take a look at the new site and feedback your thoughts good or bad to us.
Email your comments to: robert.reilly@kcil.org.uk.
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Wheelchairs, Buses, Prams
They do not mix. In pairs, yes, but all together can create a dangerous concoction!
Finally, a confrontation has hit the national news. Last month, a woman’s refusal to move
her pushchair out of the ‘wheelchair bay’, on a bus in Leeds, had huge effects. A disabled
man in a wheelchair, was forced to leave the bus. A case which caused such dismay, it
ended up going to be settled in court.
This example should be witnessed and learnt from, nationwide. Although the cited case
was in Leeds, I know that such confrontations happen regularly, everywhere. Who has
priority? Wheelchair users are stated by signs aboard the bus, as having a top priority over
prams. However, it seems that priority only exists sometimes...
‘That sign’…
…A ‘please’ is a question. Not an order or instruction. There is no rule, but a suggestion…
As a disabled, wheelchair-user, myself, I have my own opinion on this topic…
There is no stated law on this, so one essentially relies on general public opinion (democratic).
It is up to passengers themselves to decide who has priority. Usually ‘fully able-bodied’
passengers will forgo their desires for ‘disabled’ passengers needs. Sometimes their physical
position needs highlighting and notifying to themselves. There is no law aiding us wheelchairs, I don’t think that there should be law. If we (wheelchair users) use the law to our
gain, and disadvantage of others, we will become even more unpopular. This is not what
we need. We want to be positive, pressurizing everyone to help us.
I feel that this must work both ways, meaning that us, wheelchair users have to forgo our
desires for the needs of ‘fully able-bodied’ passengers. This is rare, but obviously can occur.
Wheelchairs must realize that we are only human, and should not be so superior. I think that,
as equal human beings on a bus, whoever is in the space first, gets to remain in the space.
This is the fairest way. We are only human, like everyone else. If the bus is full, there is no
space for more passengers. This is a fact that every human faces.
Patrick Goodacre - patrickgoodacre.blogspot.co.uk
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International Day of Disabled People – The Promise of Technology
It is incredibly comforting to know that large-scale organisations such as the
United Nations (UN) not only recognise disabilities but also try to raise awareness
of it. On 3rd December 2014, Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL) was
one of many organisations recognising the International Day of Disabled People
(IDDP) which was initially proclaimed by the UN in 1992.
Since its first observation, there has been great success in gathering and mobilising
awareness and support of disabled people and their rights. Each year, IDDP
focuses on a different issue, or theme. The most recent observance in 2014 had the
theme of ‘Sustainable Development - The Promise of Technology’. The occasion is
intended to have the universal theme of “full participation and equality”, an ideal
which encourages recognition of the right of disabled people to live fully-integrated
lives with their equals in society and receive an equal share in improvement of
conditions through socio-economic redevelopment.
One word that often comes to mind when referring to recognising the needs
of persons with disabilities is accessibility. Not just wheelchair ramps but a large
number of modern technological products such as apps on smartphones and
three-dimensional films which may not be as accessible to everyone as desired
due to the disabilities and impairments of certain users. In spite of modern-day
recognition of disabled people, this still presents an obstacle. The UN General
Assembly stresses the point that accessibility for all is pertinent for an all-inclusive
society.
Accessibility can be described as having the flexibility to accommodate all
needs and preferences. While there is often an unspoken pressure to produce a
sleek-looking, state-of-the-art app on smartphones, developers may be reluctant
to make their products more accessible at the expense of aesthetics. Physical
services such as transport infrastructures have seen incredible improvements in
accessibility. This is still being improved but assurance needs to be made that all
areas are assessed for accessibility and are reviewed to see if further improvements
can be made. With the theme of sustainable development pledged by the UN,
we can be comfortable in seeing further improvements very soon.
On the celebration note.
On Wednesday, the 3rd December RBK’s Disabled Staff Group and Kingston
Centre for Independent Living were celebrating International Day of Disabled
People and the contributions and achievements of disabled people to society.
The theme was “Living in a Sighted World – Breaking the barriers with Kington’s
Visual Impairment Parliament”. The event was held at Kingston United Reformed
Church.
The keynote speech was delivered by Keith Valentine from the Thomas Pocklington Trust.
Miss Na Won Kim played piano. She incorporated Classical, Jazz and Pop music.
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Keith Valentine, Na Won Kim, and Lisa Ehlers
Equipment For Sale
Pride Go Go Elite Traveller LX 12amp Travel Mobility Scooter
Any reasonable offer considered. Contact 020 8546 9603 for further details.
The Go Go Elite Traveller LX has suspension on the seating for a more comfortable
ride. There is a soft touch delta tiller, making the controls easier to operate if the rider
has problems with their grip or weaker hands.
A travel range of up to 10 miles is achievable.
The swivel seat and armrests that fold up means the Pride Go Go Elite Traveller
LX Mobility Scooter is easy to get on and off, the adjustable steering tiller enables
you to find the most comfortable driving position to suit you. The batteries can be
charged on or off the mobility scooter, whichever you find easier.
The Pride Go Go Elite Traveller LX Mobility Scooter has wireless controls, which makes
taking it apart for travel (and putting it back together again) a simple task.
Free Personal Safety Alarms
Kingston Centre for Independent Living received a number of Personal Safety.
Alarms with Oscillating Dual Sirens and Ultra Bright Torch to give away to residents of
Kingston borough.
We would like to thank the Kingston Police Community Support Officers for donating
the alarms.
If you would like to receive one, please contact Robert Reilly on 020 8546 1442 or
robert.reilly@kcil.org.uk.
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Who’s Who at KCIL
Lisa Ehlers: Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 0208 481 1444
Robert Reilly: Administrative Officer
Tel: 0208 546 9603
Maria Keskes: Self-Directed Support Administrator
Tel: 0208 481 1440
John Morris: Self-Directed Support Administrator
Tel: 0208 481 1445
Maureen Wing: Self-Directed Support Outreach Worker
Tel: 0208 481 1446
Sophie Marshall: Special Educational Needs and Disability Project
Tel: 0208 481 1448
Joanna Aleksy: Support Broker
Tel: 0208 481 1442
Jane Ferrier-May: Independent Supporter
Tel: 0208 481 1441
John Raitt: Book-keeper
Tel: 0208 546 9603
Fax: 0208 546 7947
Web: www.kcil.org.uk
KCIL Newsletter brought to you by:
Content editor – John Hatherley – john.hatherley@hotmail.com
Graphics editor – Patrick Goodacre – patrick.goodacre@yahoo.co.uk
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