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In this Issue:
No Magic Pill
Article 25
Sun and Cocktails
DRCD
VOICE
ILMI in the Midlands and out West
ILMI’s Peter Kearns, who is also a cast member of the dynamic and ground-breaking play No Magic Pill, has been leading Disability Equality Workshops across Ireland. These workshops have taken the stage by storm at the Backstage Theatre in Longford, the Irish Wheelchair Association in Briarhill, Galway, and the Glór Theatre in Ennis, County Clare.
At every venue, we had fantastic turnouts, with each event packed with laughter, energy, and thunderous applause. A huge thank you to the incredible teams who helped organise these events, and an even bigger thank you to all the participants who brought such enthusiasm to the workshops.
This isn’t just a workshop series, this is history in the making. Ground breaking conversations on disability equality are happening right now. And *No Magic Pill* is at the heart of it. Don’t miss your chance to witness this incredible play live on stage, grab your tickets now and be part of something unforgettable!
Check out all the upcoming venues and accessible performances of No Magic Pill here
Join ILMI’s Article 25 online Workshops for Disabled People!
We’re excited to share that our first workshop was a massive success, and now it’s time for the next one. These workshops are for disabled people only, creating a space where our voices can shape the future of healthcare in Ireland.
Why are we doing this?
Under Article 25 of the UNCRPD, the state is obligated to provide the highest standard of healthcare to disabled people. These workshops allow us to develop a shared vision for accessible, inclusive, and affordable health services from a social model perspective. We are addressing health inequalities and working to ensure our healthcare needs are met.
Your Role:
If you’re an attendee, you’re not just participating, you’re actively helping shape the final report, which will contribute to the launch event. This is a chance for disabled people across Ireland to have their say in how healthcare should be delivered, ensuring our collective voice is heard and acted upon.
Workshop Schedule:
– Disabled Women & Access to Healthcare – Monday, 30th September
– Access to Primary Healthcare – Thursday, 3rd October
– Access to Acute Care – Tuesday, 8th October
– Reproductive Healthcare, IVF & AHR – Thursday, 10th October
– Health Screening Programmes – Tuesday, 15th October
– Access to Healthcare Information & Digital Health – Thursday, 17th October
– Disability & Cost of Healthcare – Tuesday, 22nd October
– Health Systems & Structures – Thursday, 24th October
Workshops will take place from 11am to 1pm on Zoom. If you are unable to attend a session but want to contribute, we’ll arrange other ways for your voice to be included.
To register for these workshops, email info@ilmi.ie We are proud to provide a safe online space for disabled people to engage in these important discussions. Let’s work together to shape the future of healthcare! All information Here
Sun and Cocktails
Fiona Weldon, ILMI’s Capacity Officer represented the DPO Network at a Disability Respite Services Stakeholder Event which was run by the Department of Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on Wednesday 26th September.
This event was opened by Minister Anne Rabbitte followed by presentations from The Disability Residential Services Unit, The Brothers of Charity Services, Inclusion Ireland along with advocates, Western Care, and the Home Sharing National Working Group.
The purpose of the event was to examine what respite currently is and what it could or should look like or is there an alternative.
If we search for the meaning of “Respite” on the Internet we will usual find the words “offering disabled people – adults and children “the opportunity to take a holiday while at the same time providing the families / carers with a break from full-time caring”. But I ask, is it? With a costing of over €60 + million per annum. Think of all the sun and cocktails Disabled People could have…
I was delighted to hear that there was a unanimous agreement that the current “Respite Provision” is:
• Not working for those that it services or its providers
• Highly medicalised
• Very much embedded in a “care” model of support. We know that disabled people don’t want “to be cared for by the people who support them. A power imbalance ensues when care is done to us.
• Driven by parents and Carers organisations.
But I was very disappointed about the lack of creative solutions that the audience came up with. It was very much driven by families “in crisis” and a need for a much needed “break for both parents and siblings”. ILMI are all too aware that being reliant on family members for support needs destroys the family dynamics.
While some expressed a need for change many expressed more of the same – more investment, more staff, more crisis beds, and more training to manage those with “challenging behaviours”. I remember someone I supported not so long ago and I quote: why are we forced into using institutions that control us, that lock us away and just because I am a disabled person – we are treated like prisoners, and we haven’t committed any crime”.
We know from our work in ILMI that families are often forced to send their loved ones “as a last resort” because of the lack of individualised person-centred supports. We are also acutely aware that we don’t know the “real impact of respite on family members”.
From an ILMI perspective we must to invest in the “provision of tailored Personal Assistance Services (PAS) from an early age”. We know that this can support parents, disabled children and adults to live self-determined lives – offering choice and control and we know that this is a cost-effective measure see our PAS NOW campaign and that choice and control of our lives is at the core of the UNCRPD.
ILMI believes that “respite” as a topic can often be seem as a “Taboo” subject among Disability Activists. Many Disabled People have accessed respite over the years because of the lack of supports at some stage in their lives, and some have expressed shame for even admitting this.
Respite is contrary to the philosophy of independent living and it is something people have accessed due to systems failure in the provision of supports such as PAS – see details of our PAS Campaign here .
Some Disabled People have very positive experiences of respite settings as they are based on a model of exploring what supports can lead to greater control in their lives and exploring what managing services themselves can look like.
The Home from Home Self Catering Apartment” Rental Service is a great example “home from home” where Disabled People are empowered to explore independent living and what living outside the family home can really look like.
Direct Payments was also mentioned as an alternative, where disabled people receive money directly and chose what they want as an alternative to respite.
Over the coming months ILMI intends to bring a lived experience analysis of this topic and will create a safe space for Disabled People to discuss their experience of respite and will pose questions, like:
- Does respite work for Disabled People?
- Does it really serve those that are availing of this service?
- Could the monies be spend on to support Disabled People and the families to have meaningful breaks?
- And if Disabled People were in control and designed these systems, where should investment go and what would that look like?
After all “Respite” is supposed to be a holiday. A holiday for me is on a beach drinking a cocktail for lunch while bathing in the sun”.
Watch this space! Not about my holidays… but in conversations with Disabled People and their families about what real holidays / breaks must look like.
If you want to be part of this conversation, email info@ilmi.ie with the subject line “Respite Discussion”
DRCD
In his opening speech, Minister Joe O’Brien emphasised the importance of a community development approach in addressing marginalisation. He highlighted how crucial it is for communities to have the power to decide what is best for them. All of the projects showcased focus on supporting groups experiencing social exclusion, whether based on geographical communities or specific groups of people.
A key theme that resonated throughout the day was the collective effort to empower individuals and communities to create and implement their own solutions to the challenges they face. This active involvement is at the heart of community development.
ILMI’s VOICE programme, delivered under the Community Development Programme, embodies these principles by prioritising the collective empowerment of disabled people.
In the afternoon, a slideshow presentation showcased the impactful work of all the projects, including VOICE. The event was a rare and valuable opportunity to network with stakeholders and learn from the diverse approaches being implemented across different programmes.
Opportunity to engage in six empowering workshops
The VOICE project’s next series of online workshops start on Wednesday, 9 October, and will run for six weeks. They will take place on Zoom, each Wednesday from 9 October-13 November from 2-3pm. In the weekly sessions, participants can make new connections with peers, explore what the word disability means and how we can work together as a collective to identify and remove the local barriers that prevent us from having the same Opportunity to engage in six empowering workshops.
The VOICE project’s next series of online workshops start on Wednesday, 9 October, and will run for six weeks. They will take place on Zoom, each Wednesday from 9 October-13 November from 2-3pm. In the weekly sessions, participants can make new connections with peers, explore what the word disability means and how we can work together as a collective to identify and remove the local barriers that prevent us from having the same opportunities as nondisabled people. We will look at the role of Disabled Persons organisations (DPO’s) can have to ensure the perspective and voices of Disabled persons are listened to when a policy that will impact them is being developed or public funding is being spent on upgrading the transport system et cetera. You have nothing to lose, and this could be the start of your activism journey with ILMI and the VOICE project. VOICE provides a platform for disabled people to connect, engage, and advocate for a more inclusive society. As a cross impairment organisation, we welcome the participation of any disabled person irrespective of their impairment i.e. people with physical or sensory impairments, people who identify as neuro divergent.
For counties Kerry, Cork and Tipperary email nicolameacle@ilmi.ie
For counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford email paulasoraghan@ilmi.ie
Funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Community Development Programme, our Virtual Online Inclusive Communities for Empowerment (VOICE) project works with disabled people in counties Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford.
More details about our VOICE Project on this link
ILMI Resources
A Smorgasbord of recent links on our link in bio click here https://beacons.ai/ilmireland and feel free to share.
Why not explore the wealth of resources available to you on our website: from our strategic plan to our invaluable SFC resources and our policy documents and submissions. At our core, we’re a cross-impairment disabled person’s organisation dedicated to tackling the topics that matter most. Let’s continue our journey toward inclusivity and empowerment together! If you want to know more or sign up and get involved in our work please email info@ilmi.ie |
