Some people see mobility aids as a sign of weakness, that people have given up. Well these people are wrong. I know for me my mobility aids are in fact aids of freedom. Just look at what I have achieved this last year and continue to do. I have and I still am exploring places I never thought possible.
However, it may indicate dependence not independence. Unfortunately because they haven’t been taught better.
I remember when I was against using an electric wheelchair in college, because it didn’t require me to use my upper body strength. I felt that the college was underestimating my strength. I thought it would make me lazy too. I absolutely love them now!
It’s been great to have the ability to do so much more now than my body would allow. Unfortunately because it’s been the “norm,” and there hasn’t been a lot of awareness to prove otherwise. I always try to change people’s perspectives but there are still people who still don’t understand until it’s explained to them or they see it for themselves.
This is the one reason I would like to start posting more, but, social media is sometimes not used for the greater good, rather than people just wanting to be “influencers.” It’s on because you could technically count glasses as a mobility aid.
Alternatively, aid and glasses are usually associated with competence or being smart. In other cases, it’s a sign of high intelligence.
Let’s flip the script and start telling able bodied peole that their legs (or other parts) must be such an obstacle for living a meaningful life.
On December 3, 2020, I was a panelist for a Virtual Conference hosted by the WindReach in Bermuda. This virtual conference was held in honour of ‘International Day of People with Disabilities’.
Conference objective:
Due to COVID-19, but even before, the needs and voices of People Living with Disabilities were often not made a priority in our social world, in our workplaces, in our schools or even in their own care and goals. Focusing our main topics of understanding on the history of disability, employment, accessibility, stigma, people’s misperceptions, and encouraging self-advocacy, we hope to address many of the issues facing Bermudians living with disabilities.
This conference is meant to shine a light on the disability community as a whole, give space for their voices to be heard and to work on solutions to better the lives of all individuals. Everyone benefits when we collectively move towards a more inclusive society. There were ASL interpreters present throughout the whole conference. It was well organised and things went smoothly.
During the conference, I shared the subject of Disability & Accessibility in Bermuda (Panel) alongside Chris Bulley, Vince Godber from Vision Bermuda & Keith Simmons.
This discussion was between Panelists on the state of accessibility in Bermuda, what are the issues facing individuals accessing public and private establishments, transportation, and health care from an access perspective. Examine what laws are in place to address this, how they are used and how we can move forward to create a more accessible Bermuda.
I also discussed how I’ve explored the option of marketing myself as an Access Consultant, and how we could do with more in Bermuda.
I have always advocated and written articles on the subject of Wheelchair Accessibility, especially while growing up in Bermuda. This has been a longstanding issue in Bermuda, at least since 2006. I’ve even attended a ‘Brown Bag Lunch’ with Bermuda’s former Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, to discuss subjects like Wheelchair Accessibility amongst other things.
This is a photo of former Premier Dr. Ewart Brown’s first Brown Bag Lunch.
Accessibility can be viewed as the “ability to access” and benefit from some system or entity. The concept often focuses on people with disabilities or special needs (such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) and their right of access, enabling the use of assistive technology.
Bermuda is not wheelchair-friendly. But in the City of Hamilton, some roads have disabled-friendly sidewalks. Bermuda’s sidewalks are often very busy with pedestrians, can be steep, are not always on both sides of the road and traffic on the main road between sidewalks is often dense. It is a very hilly, with few flat places, not good for disabled people confined to a wheelchair who are not accompanied by a spouse or caregiver with the strength to lift them. Main roads are very narrow and almost always busy during the weekday especially. There are now sidewalks with sloping ramps uniformly throughout the most frequently traveled tourism and international business areas of the city. The Town of St. George is slowly improving. It is semi-rural. http://www.bermuda-online.org/disabledinBermuda.htm.
Wheelchair Accessibility and mobility issues are additional problems that wheelchair users face daily. I experienced this many times in Bermuda, especially at school. Access alleviates the amount of limitations and restrictions on wheelchair users. Failing to ensure wheelchair accessibility is neglecting to provide reasonable adjustments. It is like functioning in dysfunction. Fortunately AccessAdvisr helps to tackle this in England. I still think that people must be mindful.
Accessibility Consultation and Disability Services (ADS) provides inspections, assessment, and consultations for accessibility requirements like ramps, door sizes, for new buildings and renovations. The purpose of this service is to help ensure and promote accessibility for all. The Accessibility Officer reviews planning applications, upon the request of the Department of Planning or the applicant, to help ensure buildings meet accessibility requirements. For more information about the Building Codes in Bermuda visit The Department of Planning Website: https://www.gov.bm/accessibility-consultation.
The Department of Planning has Building Control. Building Control consults with other government agencies, reviews building permit applications for compliance with Building Codes and may require professional engineer certification of structures before issuance of building permits.
Building Control building and electrical inspectors visit the sites where construction is underway to inspect work and determine if work is in accordance with the planning approval and the building permit. It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure inspections are requested and the owner may be required to obtain a professional engineer certification of works which have not been inspected. Requests for Certificates of Completion/Occupancy, whether partial or final, must be made in writing: https://planning.gov.bm/index.php/building-control/.
Additionally, Bermuda businesses are taking steps to improve accessibility. In 2019, Bermuda joined the UK’s business initiative called ‘Purple Tuesday’. Companies and individuals can register in advance using an online form or can speak with accessibility advocates in Hamilton, where sign-up details are taken in-person and additional information is available.
This initiative is part of a National Tourism Plan effort to ensure Bermuda becomes a more accessible destination for people with disabilities, an effort that will not only set the island apart but also benefit Bermudians, too.
However, I get really annoyed with drivers who park across dropped kerbs. Dropped kerbs are meant to make it easy for wheelchairs to enter and exit sidewalks. Some drivers even park on top of the sidewalks blocking the walkway. We need to clamp down on this with a fine both in the UK and Bermuda.
One solution to resolve this is through installing ramps and lifts.
Having this event is one good way to make some noise about Wheelchair Accessibility. The purpose of this virtual conference is to find a common ground on this relentless issue so that we can move forward together as a community. Finding a solution might mean compromising things for the greater good to move Bermuda forward.
But we need more help. We need more allies, pressure groups, focus groups and need to get more people with disabilities in Parliament and The Human Rights Commission.
I am very thankful and happy that I was given the opportunity to be a panelist for this virtual conference. I hope this virtual conference can encourage positive change and bring about a ‘new reality’ for disabled Bermudians and disabled tourists.
I am writing this report about crowdfunding campaigning in the UK, as part of my research for the Purple Vote Campaign, in conjunction with the Legacy International Group.
Before carrying out my research for this report, I was of the assumption that crowdfunding campaigns were only politically driven. However, to my surprise I am wrong.
What is crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is a different way to raise money for good ideas. People are increasingly bypassing more traditional funding routes such as bank loans or grants and turning instead to the people around them and in their community to support their venture. It’s been around for centuries but the internet makes it possible to reach much bigger audiences than before.
There are various types of crowdfunding campaigns such as:
donation-based crowdfunding
Reward-based crowdfunding
Debt crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding
DISABILITY CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGNS IN THE UK
Crowdfunding Campaigns are quite popular in the UK.
SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS
According to my research, there have been some successful disability related crowdfunding campaigns within the UK.
For example, Access Enable 1st Start Up is one disability related crowdfunding campaign, that was created to break down the social barriers disabled people face in everyday life by educating businesses about Disability, Access, and Inclusion. On 27th February 2018 they successfully raised £125 with 6 supporters in 56 days.
Another campaign is Brainhead which was launched in 2013. BrainHead is an app developed by the Autism Diagnostic Research Centre which was successful because it ultimately led to £10,000 being raised through Crowdcube, (a crowdfunding platform) in addition to the project’s £150K grant.
Disabled People Against Cuts in London also held a ‘Rights not Charity’ crowdfunding campaign. On 25th November 2019 they successfully raised £1,929 with 53 supporters in 28 days.
Ability Today had a ‘Turning Disability into Ability’ campaign which was successful because they raised £6,700 on November 13th, 2019 with 160 supporters in 69 days.
Alan Barnes Fund was successful, because they topped £300K in four days. The original target of the Alan Barnes Fund was £500. The Alan Barnes Fund was a personal appeal for health and medical reasons.
On the other hand, there have also been unsuccessful disability related crowdfunding campaigns within the UK.
For example, Support disabled people in society. Their goal is to make websites accessible for everyone. Their vision is to support disabled people in society. Unfortunately, this project was not successful. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/make-websites-accessible-for-everyone
AME Communicate offers three app-based products for people who are visually impaired, hearing-impaired, and non-native English speakers. They comprise AME Sight (an all-in-one screen magnifier, reader, and character recognition app), AME Translate (which enables users to communicate in other languages via pre-loaded phrases and words) and AME BSL (a British Sign Language interpreter and translator). This campaign was unsuccessful.
Why?
“Crowdfunding didn’t allow us to fully represent our goals and show the products off to their best advantage,”
Teleford admits.
Grippoz, an innovative wheelchair push-rim cover, crowdfunding made the prospect of developing and mass-producing the product feasible, but it failed, unfortunately, because the Grippoz Kickstarter campaign was only able to raise £5195 of the team’s £22,500 goal.
The Peers Connection Group was an unsuccessful disability crowdfunding campaign.
Disability Snowsport UK was also an unsuccessful disability crowdfunding campaign.
Additional reasons why crowdfunding campaigns are unsuccessful
Another reason why crowdfunding campaigns fail is due to the lack of momentum within the first 48 hours of launching. It is crucial that you reach a third of your target within 48 hours of launching. If you do not achieve that, studies have shown that campaigns are not likely to succeed.
People with disabilities should not need to crowdfund in order to afford basic independence.
However, I suppose crowdfunding campaigns are a good alternative to charity in the face of austerity. Crowdfunding campaigns for a disability focussed political campaign sounds very effective.
For example, Cambridge Green Party raised £300 from 10 supporters. Unfortunately, campaigning also requires money for leaflets, letters, posters, ads and more. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/VirgilGreen
Additionally, Wales People’s Assembly against austerity, is another crowdfunding campaign that was successful. This was an anti-austerity campaign involved in organising events to protest, protect and fight austerity which negatively affects the most vulnerable. On 25th June 2015 they successfully raised £10 with 1 supporter in 28 days.
Based on my findings, there is seemingly more successful disability focussed crowdfunding campaigns in the UK than there were unsuccessful disability focussed crowdfunding campaigns.
As a result, I conclude that crowdfunding campaigns are the best and most effective way to make money, especially for a disability focussed political campaign. It will also be the most modern and effective way to build momentum and raise awareness for disability advocacy and political causes.
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