Firstly, thanks to all of you that have taken the time to fill in our membership survey. If you haven’t completed it yet, if you could do so before Thursday 11 July we would be very grateful. At Inclusion Barnet, we’re very aware of how issues like the cost of living crisis are impacting our members, and we’re determined to grow our engagement to be a stronger voice for a better deal for disabled people. And we need you to tell us how to do that, so please fill in the survey and get in touch with me at caroline@inclusionbarnet.org.uk if there’s anything you’d like to discuss. If you’re not already a member and you’re a disabled person or carer living or working in Barnet, please do sign up.

I also need to let you all know that unfortunately we’ve had to pause referrals into our Touchpoint service for now because we’re at capacity. At a time when people need more help than ever due to multiple pressures such as cost of living, we really regret having to do this, and we will be working hard to bring the waiting list down as soon as possible so we can reopen them again.

Speaking of the cost of living crisis, we brought front line workers from across Barnet services together on Tuesday to gather information about the issues they’re hearing about, and we’ll be going through all the information we've collected to see where we can campaign for change locally. Later in the Autumn, we’ll be holding an event for members to talk about cost of living as well to gather further intelligence about what’s going on for you – so please do come along to that if you can. We'll let you know about the outcomes of our first meeting in the next issue.

In the meantime, I wish you all a warm and restful August, and look forward to seeing you soon when we convene the meeting.

As always, 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 or send us a text message on 07719 105 534 and our administrator Patricia will ensure I get your message so we can book a time to talk.

Caroline Collier
Chief Executive Officer

Job Vacancy – Senior peer role

We have an exciting new opportunity to join our senior team. A real opportunity for a talented disabled person to make a differe

Job Title: Head of User Voice (peer role)

Full-time: Permanent

Location: our Colindale office, meetings across Barnet, extensive opportunities for home working.

Salary: £43,000 per year

Closing date: 13th August 2022

This role will oversee our communications and engagement, user voice and research functions. You do not need to be a communications or research specialist, but you do need to be a superb communicator who is confident to ensure that all our outputs align with our strategy and brand.  Policy and/or campaigns experience would be advantageous, however.

If you have an ability to engage with people as equals, an unerring instinct how a message will land, a collaborative and encouraging management style and would love the chance to campaign for a fair deal for disabled people, we want to hear from you.

Job Vacancy – Manager, Healthwatch peer role

We’re hiring for a new Manager to lead our Healthwatch Barnet team!

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with lived experience of disability (which could include a long term condition or mental health issue) to lead a small team in the delivery of Barnet’s statutory Healthwatch function.

Job Title: Manager, Healthwatch Barnet (peer role)

Full-time: Permanent

Location: our Colindale office, meetings across Barnet, extensive opportunities for home working.

Salary: £35,750 per year

Closing date: 16th August 2022

We will be sad to say goodbye to our current Manager, but delighted they will be sticking around long enough to ensure a smooth hand over.

If you are passionate about patient and public engagement, effecting system change, and improving services this could be a great career move for you. You’ll be confident leading engagement, overseeing research, and telling the story of the findings to decision-makers. This is a role where you can improve the experiences of people using health and social care services in Barnet.

Library volunteers wanted

Our two public libraries, at New Barnet and South Friern, offer a range of volunteering opportunities to disabled people, including those with long term conditions or mental health issues.

If you’re interested in spending a few hours a week volunteering in a safe, free, inclusive environment, do please get in touch with our Library Manager, Nick Black, for an informal chat about what it involves. You’d be working with the public, gaining customer service and library skills, making friends and contributing to the community.

"I have gained a lot of personal confidence since I started, as well as meeting some very nice people.  I feel supported and valued."

- Anonymous, library volunteer

Many of our volunteers have gone on, or returned to, paid employment after spending time with us, though we also have many volunteers who are retired or who stay with us long-term because of how much they enjoy it. Others have gone into education or other volunteering roles.

Both libraries are wheelchair accessible with ground floor disabled toilets.

Members survey

Are you a member of Inclusion Barnet? If you’d like a chance to be entered into a free raffle to win a £20 Love2Shop voucher, then remember to check your email and look out for the message from us sent last week about taking a short survey. We will be sending out a reminder this week so don’t miss out!

We want to know how you’d like us to keep in touch with you, how you’d like to keep in touch with us and what things are most important to you. As Caroline mentioned in her introduction, we're happy to discuss how we can serve you better, so feel free to get in touch by emailing caroline@inclusionbarnet.org.uk.

Join our FREE membership

If you’re not already a member and would like to be, you can sign up today!

If you have:

- lived experience of disability (including long-term conditions or mental health issues), or:  

- care for a disabled family member of a friend who does, and:

- are aged 18 or over, and you live, work or study in Barnet

then you are eligible to join. You can choose how much or little you want to be involved, including the option to be a silent supporter.

You will already be supporting disabled people’s rights just by signing up.

Healthy Heart out and about

Our new healthy heart team, Judi, Riffat and Salna, have been out and about in the community meeting lots of people from African, Caribbean and South Asian heritage to spread the word about our new free support service for people with high blood pressure. If you belong to, or run a local community, voluntary, faith or social enterprise organisation and you think you may have members who might be interested in a drop in from them, so they can tell you what's on offer to the community, please get in touch.

They’ll tell you all about the free courses they’re running on self-management for high blood pressure and how to sign up to them or some of the other free Healthy Heart services they’re offering, like online support and personal health coaching.

Email the team at: healthyheart@inclusionbarnet.org.uk

Phone them on: 020 3475 1316

Or text them (Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm): 07719105534

Write to your local MP

Last month we sent an updated letter to our local MP, Matthew Offord, calling for a thorough reassessment of social security support for disabled people, to end the appalling levels of poverty in our community.

Poverty among disabled people is a massive and growing problem. Over a decade of cuts in government social provision has left many Disabled people without access to essentials and caused or contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths.

If you want to support this campaign, run by the Disability Poverty Campaign Group, you can use the template below to send a letter to your local MP. Just enter your name and sign the letter (edit if you wish).It will take less than 60 seconds of your time.

Riffat Ahmed, Healthy Heart Peer

1.   How long have you worked at Inclusion Barnet? 

I have been working in Inclusion Barnet since May’2022 as a member of an excellent team focused on the Healthy Heart Peer Support Project.

2.   What is the main thing you are working on right now? 

The Health Heart Support Project is aimed to develop awareness and support the three communities; South Asian, African Caribbean and Black African for maintaining their high blood pressure, which is one of the major contributing factors in Cardiovascular Diseases.

3. How does having lived experience impact your role?

I am of South Asian background and have witnessed how High Blood Pressure has led to Angina, Open Heart Surgery, Heart Strokes and Heart failures in my immediate and extended family.  My motivation lies in the positive outcome that I wish to achieve in bringing the awareness that High Blood Pressure can be controlled with some healthy diet changes, regular exercise regime and monitoring of the blood pressure and identifying its triggers in day-to-day life.

4. The best thing about working at Inclusion Barnet? 

Inclusion Barnet gives me a strong sense of belonging, acceptance, and trust. I wish to utilize my potential to my utmost. It is enabling me to live my life with a purpose outside my personal bounds.

5. Favourite way to spend time when you’re not working? 

Doing some fun/ productive activity with my girl and friends, swimming, cooking, reading/ writing, doing good to as many people as possible; friends, acquaintances and strangers. Life is awesome!

Petition for Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

Disability Rights UK are calling on the Government (with disability action group, Cladag and Grenfell United ) to implement the Grenfell inquiry recommendation on Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans.

Sign and share this petition if you believe Disabled people deserve the right to safely evacuate in a fire.

Disabled Britain: Doing it for Ourselves

If you missed the Daily Mirror series last month on Disabled Britain: Doing it for Ourselves it’s well worth a read.  It show cases the lives of disabled people, authentically, in their own words. The articles have been conceived by disabled people, written by disabled people, and photographs - where possible - taken by disabled people. Here are the back copies:

Introducing The Mirror's Disabled Britain: Doing It For Ourselves series - Mirror Online

'My wheelchair journey around London - from fighting for space to being left on trains' - Mirror Online

Disabled Coronation Street star reveals prejudice from taxi drivers, doctors and public - Mirror Online

'Disabled people have a unique way to achieve their dreams - we must not forget it' - Mirror Online

'My amputation changed me - but after it I started loving my body even more' - Mirror Online

'Yes, disabled people enjoy sex -too but the subject still makes some nervous' - Mirror Online

Eight commonly held beliefs about disabled people debunked as mere myths - Mirror Online

Last chance - London buses consultation

Transport for London (TFL) are consulting on changes to bus routes in and around central London as part of their Central London Bus Review. The consultation ends on 7th August 2022.

Scope campaign for inclusive playgrounds

Too many disabled children are being denied fun and friendship at their local playgrounds because they are not designed for them. Sign Scope’s open letter, as part of their Let's Play Fair campaign, demanding that the government makes play fair for disabled children.

Transition to adult social care services

Barnet Council are interested to hear from young people, parents and carers about their experiences of  transition into adulthood.

The survey is running until 21^st August 2022. They will use the results to help make services better for all.

Please take one of the surveys below:

Channel 4 Disability Code of Portrayal

We were delighted to see this new Disability Code of Portrayal released by Chief Content Officer at Channel 4, Ian Katz last month.. It looks like a thoughtful, social model-based code that’s been designed to ensure authentic, nuanced and original disability portrayal. One to watch!