Secretary Keegan Hillier attended the Inclusion London event, What next for Independent Living?, on Thursday 16th April. The event took place in person at the Coin Street Community Centre in Central London.
The focus of the day was on understanding the movement out of institutions and imprisonment, and ensuring that disabled people remain able to choose and have a say in their care and living situations.
As the photo shows, there was a wide range of people from across the capital, with some coming in from even further afield. We hope to invite some of the contacts made to future All Members Meetings to share how schemes from other areas can be applied to and improve accessibility and disability understanding in Kingston upon Thames.
Keegan’s Key Takeaways from the day were;
- The Independent Living movement is surprisingly new – the movement began in the late 1960s in America.
- The UK version was kicked off by John Evans, among other prisoners of institutions, leading up to Project 81, with the UN International Year of Disabled People, 1981, being their target for freedom.
- In the 1980s, Centres for Independent Living (CILs) and Deaf and Disabled Peoples Organisations (DDPOs) created, and practiced, the concept of self-directed support.
- This was a radical change at the time, challenging the medical and charitable models of disability in favour of the social model.
- This was where the move to describing people as Personal Assistants (PAs) over Carers came in, as they assisted with living life.
- It took until 2007 for the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. This was ratified by the UK government in 2010.
- Intersectionality was essential, especially in the early days of the Independent Living movement.
- Panelists explained how the Black Panthers movement in America were very supportive of the ‘Crip Camps’ and other disability organisations and movements that went on in their country. The panelists also raised how women were particularly important in supporting the work of Independent Living activists, especially in its early days.
- Reflections on what more needs to be done included;
- Revisions to personal budgets, to allow for greater freedom to provide what disabled people need.
- Tackling misconceptions of what ‘independence’ means, as what is viewed as independence to able-bodied people is often very different to what is true independence for disabled people.
- Continuing to speak up when policy and systems are not working. This includes, but is not limited to, advocacy for greater funding into social care, or pushing for more accessible and adaptable affordable and social housing.
Inclusion London regularly runs campaigns, and events, working to improve accessibility and unite disabled people across London. You can see their current campaigns at the following link – https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/campaigns-and-policy/
The Cromwell Road Bus Station; still no radar key for the hard to find accessible bathroom. Kingston Association for the Blind were able to take a site visit with TfL representatives to express member concerns, including the difficult to access bathroom and the inconsistent signage. Unfortunately, TfL maintain the stance that, since there should be staff on site between 6:30AM to 9:30PM, they believe there is no need for a radar key. We have raised that staff are often not available, and TfL say they will continue to monitor the situation.
There are plans to remove an important bus stop due to the implementation of a cycle lane. Waters Road Stop B is currently scheduled for closure due to the new cycle lane, but we have raised the issue within the Transport Liaison Group. Cllr Nardelli has asked us for more information on the situation, which we have provided.
Berrylands station is still waiting on funds being made available to provide a step-free station. Whilst this is a frustrating situation to be in, our SWR contacts assure us that when they are next able to bid for funding they will advocate for funds to make the station accessible.
Cycle lanes are still causing concerns for disabled members of the Kingston community. Kingston Association for the Blind raised the cycle lane by the Rotunda as a prime example, explaining that a lack of distinction between cycle lane and pavement, alongside the large crowds that take up most of the pavement space by Circuit and Bonnie Rogues, can make it unsafe for people, especially those with visual impairments, to use that strip of pavement.
Funding for waiting rooms in New Malden, Tolworth, and Malden Manor train stations has been acquired. This will give people a safe and warm space to wait for trains, with some shelter from their noise. There is hopes the first of these waiting rooms will be installed in February.
We asked for Norbiton station, another highly used station, to be considered for accessible transformation once Berrylands has received their accessible upgrades. The station is now on the radar of SWR.
Hatching at the intersection of Wheatfield Way and Fairfield North, which has rubbed away in recent years, is being reviewed for repainting. As many of us have experienced, the poor visibility of this no stopping box has lead to drivers pulling into it at lights, blocking the crossing and making it difficult for pedestrians to cross. We hope the review will be quick!
Following concerns raised at a previous meeting, the taxi cab representatives have confirmed a crackdown on abuse of taxi ranks. This means it will be easier for taxi drivers to collect and drop off passengers around town.
Continuing on the theme of e-bikes, Lime have invited the KDN to their nationwide Disability Advisory Board. Following our first meeting go learn more about what this entails, we will ask members for their key hopes from this board, which we will advocate for.
Finally, there will be new crossings implemented in and near the Coombe area. This includes one outside Coombe Girls School, but also a crossing by Kingston Hospital, which will make attending hospital appointments far safer. We have asked for disability groups to be involved in site visits, to ensure that the crossings give enough time for pedestrians to cross.