Hammersmith and Fulham Action for Disability members aspire for more
Added: (Tue Apr 14 2009)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
If you are disabled, live in London and are over 25 years old you are, more or less, left on the shelf. Reporting from HAFAD, (Hammersmith and Fulham Action for Disability), young members and volunteers talk about the obstacles they still face. Kimmy tells us how, after gaining employment as a local youth worker he was told he would only be paid as a general assistant. Esme Young, a worker at HAFAD, says; “the young volunteers I work with have aspirations, they don’t just want to learn the basics.” But for most this is the only help on offer. Esme reveals that disabled would-be volunteers even have to go through CRB checks and providing the paperwork is a nightmare for people who have never even had a passport. One young member tells us health and safety concerns make it difficult to get a job.
This first-hand report shows young people with disabilities demanding opportunities and equal treatment not pity and platitudes.
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WORLDbytes is an alternative on-line channel of reports and programmes created by a crew of young volunteers which aims to get behind the headlines and promote a people-first perspective on a wide-range of issues. The programme’s credo is “don’t shout at the telly, change the message on it”.
The WORLDbytes online channel is available at www.worldbytes.org
For more information and interviews contact:
Viv Regan Email: vivregan@btconnect.com Tel: +44 (0)7939 449 604 or +44 (0)20 8985 5435
Ceri Dingle Email: ceridingle@btconnect.com Tel: +44 (0)7866 806 918 or +44 (0)20 8985 5435