As I’m sure you know, there have been a lot of cuts recently, with the cuts and caps to Access to Work (AtW) funding affecting deaf people in particular.
To watch this article signed by Jen, click play below, or scroll down to continue reading!
AtW, in theory, should mean that deaf and disabled people have equal access to work as hearing, non-disabled people.
In real life, this is not so: The cuts, the caps, the chaos and confusion have really messed things up. I have yet to meet a deaf person who is fully satisfied that they get equal access to work… and I know a lot of deaf people!
The Stop Changes to Access to Work group have been doing some great campaigning to try and sort this mess out. They’ve had some victories, but the main mess remains, so they’ve decided that it’s time to organise a march, which will be in central London on 26th September.
I like to see things getting done, and I helped to organise the BSL marches, so I’m helping Stop Changes organise this one too.
I believe it’s worth a try, and I hope you’ll join us. It’s time to be assertive and show the government that enough is enough!
(Some say it’s not worth marching because it doesn’t change anything – well, I’d argue that staying at home doing nothing definitely doesn’t change anything…)
Finally, a deaf friend of mine told me she’ll be travelling down to London from Leeds for the march on 26th September. “It’s my responsibility,” she told me. “I get Access to Work funding and I want to march to show that I take responsibility.”
She’s right, you know. We all need to take responsibility, including me.
We need to BE the change that we want to see in this world.
See you there!
More information: http://stopchanges2atw.com/march-with-us/
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/882066048508557/
Jen Dodds is a Contributing Editor for The Limping Chicken. When she’s not looking after chickens or children, Jen can be found translating, proofreading and editing stuff over at Team HaDo Ltd (teamhado.com). On Twitter, Jen is @deafpower.
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johnny fantastica
July 23, 2015
Jen I support youj 10000%, I maybe wrong in saying this I dont think a march would have much effect, there has been others in the past and very little has come out of it, what you need is an impact a wow. 1. get all deaf to sign a petition, deliverv the petion, hopeful many sheets, with million names by pushing it thro London to No 10 or Westminster or 2.. do some research if it costs more to pay you unemplyment pay and benefits than access to work, then say all deaf with no access to work or limits become unemployed so will cost government more in unemplyement pay than access to work grants, something like that an IMPACT not a tame march something like that, I support all deaf to have access to work