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June 2022 newsletter
Your monthly update on all things Inclusion Barnet, as well as local and national goings on which impact the lives of disabled people in Barnet, including people with mental health issues and long term conditions.
The local elections brought a change to Barnet, which is now run by a new Labour administration. We will be reaching out to key councillors to find out what their plans are to support disabled people in Barnet, and we will be advocating, as we always have, for disabled people’s rights to be high on everyone’s agendas.
If there are particular issues you would like me to raise with local decision makers, I welcome your emails to: caroline@inclusionbarnet.org.uk. If you don’t find email accessible, you can call the IB switchboard on 020 3475 1314 and our administrator Patricia will ensure I get your message. Of course, the council has very limited influence over national policy, but there will be local issues which can be reviewed by the new council.
As far as national policy goes, we are on the steering group of both the Disability Benefits Consortium and the Disability Poverty Campaign group, so adding our voice to try to influence around things like benefits and social care charges at a national level. Change is never easy or quick, but we will continue to make our voice heard around these issues, so do let me know your views on these too.
Caroline Collier
Chief Executive Officer
Get involved!
Join our Touchpoint team!
Last few days left to apply for the Touchpoint Peer Worker vacancy on our team!
Salary: £27,750 per year
Contract: 6 months, (with possibility of extension)
Location: Barnet, NW9 (hybrid)
Hours: 28 per week
Application deadline: 5th June 2022
We are looking for a passionate individual with their own lived experience of disability, an understanding of the social model of disability, and a commitment to our wider aims to help tackle the barriers faced by disabled people every day.
Inclusion Barnet news
New Healthy Heart Project team members
A very warm welcome to our two newest members of the IB team, Salna Abdallah (left) and Riffat Ahmed (right). Both Healthy Heart Peer Workers who will be joining Project Co-ordinator, Judi Dumont-Barter to address hypertension issues for Barnet residents from African, Caribbean and South Asian communities.
Salna has been working in the charity sector for over 15 years and is experienced in promoting social justice for socially excluded communities in North London. Whilst Riffat has worked in various sectors over the years, always actively engaged with the community at a personal level, contributing in different community programmes.
You can find out more about Salna and Riffat and how they will be using their lived experience to deliver this community service, on our website team page. We are delighted to have them both on board.
Legacy benefit campaign
We're proud to be on the steering committee for The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a network of over 100 organisations with an interest in disability and social security.
Along with the eight other co-chairs of the consortium, our CEO, Caroline Collier, wrote a letter to Rishi Sunak to ensure govt will guarantee the financial safety of those on legacy benefits.
We're asking that claimants be compensated with either an uplift of at least the current rate of inflation or a restoration of the £20/week uplift (to be applied to all claimants). It must be guaranteed that disabled people claiming legacy benefits will this time not be not left out in the cold.
Welcome to Carter
Another, slightly belated, warm welcome to Carter Weleminsky who joined us in April this year as our Communities and Faith Officer.
Carter is part of our Community Organisation Support team whose role it is to provide free support and advice, on things such as fund raising or development advice, to non-profit organisations in the borough of Barnet.
Carter will be helping us to reach out to smaller organisations in the borough, including faith-based ones, to make sure that they are aware of this free service and can access it to help them succeed in supporting our communities.
Staff blog - inspirational quotes and mental health
Love them or hate them, Ed, gives a new perspective on the value of inspirational quotes in his latest insightful blog last month.
Ed Peston, our Communications Assistant, who writes our weekly mental health newsletter, draws from his own lived expeirence of mental health to contemplate just how much just reading these quotes made him feel better and got him out of a negative mindset.
Farewell to Melvin Lyons
We're all sad to say goodbye to Melvin, who, despite only having been with us since February this year, still managed to make a big impact on the Winter Wellness campaign on our Healthwatch Barnet team.
We're delighted that he won't be going far and will be moving on to work with Ukraine refugees with the Young Barnet Foundation, our partners under the Barnet Together Partnership.
Meet our team
Nick Black (he/him)
Manager, New Barnet and South Friern Libraries
1. How long have you worked at Inclusion Barnet?
5 years
2. What is the main thing you are working on right now?
The two libraries that Inclusion Barnet run in partnership with Barnet Libraries are now fully 'back in action' so we're busy with our free weekly Rhyme Time activities for babies and toddlers, signing people up, room rentals, PC hire, book processing/promoting/shelving/tidying, volunteer recruitment and training, Age UK coffee morning, occasional events...
3. What motivates you in your current role?
I was a really shy kid whose mum dragged him to Edgware Library's Jackanory Club one Autumn evening, many centuries ago... where I had the best time, being read Halloween stories and making some crafty something or other. I want the libraries that I manage to be the same warm, safe, inclusive, loneliness-abating, world-opening places that I discovered that night, whether that's for our library users, random passing strangers or our many volunteers who make it all possible.
4. The best thing about working at Inclusion Barnet?
The people.
5. Favourite way to spend time when you’re not working?
I like to write, but am incredibly lazy when off. When at work, I'm a Tasmanian Devil.
Community events & activities
If you run, or know of any, local accessible activities or events in Barnet and the surrounding areas please tell us about them! We’d love to include things that have either been designed with disabled people mind or includes specific accessibility info and is free or heavily subsidised: info@inclusionbarnet.org.uk,
Tickets now on sale - accessible dance performance
I Can Dance tickets are now on sale for their accessible performance at Alexander Palace on 25 June, 2:30pm.
icandance.co.uk is a London-based charity nurturing creativity, learning & wellbeing in disabled children & young people through dance, movement & performance.
Active within – health coach and exercise for free
Funded by Notting Hill Genesis, these free classes are run by coaches who are trained to adapt exercises according to ability, including one-to-one health coaching and nutrition, personal training, seated exercises and gentle walks around the reservoir where everyone can move at their own pace.
More information about classes is available on their website.
Campaigns, consultations and more
Help Disabled people survive the cost of living crisis
Disability Rights UK are urging people to write to their local MP to call for the government to help Disabled people survive the current price increases by introducing a number of new policies.
Many Disabled people cannot afford basic bills for care, food and energy. This is unacceptable in 2022. Act now & write to your MP, it will take you less than two minutes using the template letter via the blue button link below.
Book a Free Physical Health check
The Barnet Wellbeing service is supporting Barnet GP Federation to encourage people who have mental health conditions to have regular annual health checks provided by their GP.
Health checks should happen every year as they can reduce the risk of developing physical illnesses.
Email the Health and Wellbeing Manager, Kolsum Jahan, if you have any questions or would like to support this project in any way.
Election results and councillor information
The full results from the Barnet local elections by ward are available online and a list of the councillors by ward can be found using the blue button link below.
Vacancy - Chair of Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee
This is a paid opportunity for a disabled person to have a seat at the head of the table on Transport issues Department for Transport.
Closing: 17th June 2022
Vacancy - Disability and Co-production Lead - Lambeth
Black Thrive Global are looking for someone with lived experience of being Black and Deaf/Disabled to lead on embedding equity for Disabled people in their employment work.
Closing: 12th June 2022
Vacancy - Social Work Assistant/Intake Coordinator Kisharon Adult Services
Kisharon offers support to people with learning disabilities in accordance with the Jewish way of life.
Closing: 12th June 2022
Northway Special School Expansion consultation
Northway School, in Barnet, NW7, have already conducted a informal consultation on the expansion of Northway Special School which took place from 7 March 2022 to 25 March 2022, and the council is now formally consulting on the proposal.
Influence how the Met Police trains its officers
Interested? If so, join their online Community Led information evening on 9 June at 5.30pm to 7.30pm to find out more about how to get involved.
Survey to help improve NHS 111 & out of hours services
The North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group wants to understand your experience of using the NHS 111 service to help inform future improvements. Hard copies of the survey are available on request by calling 020 3688 1905.
About us
Membership
Why not become a member of Inclusion Barnet?
Membership:
• Is FREE
• Connects you a growing network of disabled people in Barnet
• Gives your voice a boost where it counts
• Gives you a say in the future of Inclusion Barnet
Inclusion Barnet services
Have you heard about some of the other community services that we run? Click on the logos or buttons for more information.
Independent Living Centre, c/o Barnet & Southgate College,
7 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4BR
Inclusion Barnet is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Registered Charity Number: 1158632
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