Jenny Sealey: My rage at Access to Work and PIP cuts (BSL)

I am horrified that yet again our government is taking another brutal bashing at Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people.

I remember in 2012 the Graeae gang and many of our cohort were feeling euphoric from the Paralympic Opening Ceremony and the Paralympics.  The euphoria was soon squashed by the dismantling of the Independent Living Fund and the capping of ATW.

Watch Jenny sign her blog below or scroll down to continue reading in English:

It was a deeply distressing time, in which lives were lost because support was taken away.

We lost the ILF battle, and started to live within the PIP system, but the fight continued to have an equal standing in society. We also learnt how to work within the ATW cap, having to censor the amount of access one uses yearly to try and stay with the financial framework. This is not always easy, especially if you work full time and need two interpreters every day.  The chaos and lack of communication with ATW is legendary, time consuming and for the most part, not accessible!! Oh, the irony. 

The ugliness of 2012 onwards has returned with a vengeance. Yet again we are being scapegoated and stripped of our basic human rights to live a life and for those of us who are able to work, they are taking away the very access which allows us to work. 

Jess Thom has stepped down from their role as joint Artistic Director of Tourette’s Hero as their ATW has been cut by 61%. 

Cuts in Universal credits and being told you must work is counterproductive of the ATW mess. 

Many freelance deaf people are facing insurmountable battles with ATW as some interpreters are refusing to take on ATW clients because they know it may be several months before they get paid and there is not guarantee of recompense.

Theatre companies are becoming more anxious about employing Deaf actors or any actor who uses ATW because they do not have the cashflow to cover initial costs and can’t take the risk of waiting months and months for ATW to pay up and again there is no guarantee of recompense. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

It is beyond stupid because the savings that will be made, will be very little, but the human impact will be astronomical in terms of mental health, physical health declining, and whole swathes of people not paying taxes or employing interpreters/ support workers who in turn pay taxes. 

It feels like slow erasing of our communities. They think –

We are not important. 

Our lives don’t have purpose. 

We have nothing to offer. 

What utter bollocks and how dare they devalue our lives. 

My solution is extremely simple. 

Tax the rich.

Employ Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people lead and run PIP and ATW. 

Meanwhile we need to be writing to our MP’s outlining the cruelty we are facing. We need to alert colleagues, friends and allies and ask them to write to MP’s to and alert their colleagues and friends. 

We need to lead a mass revolution as we are important, we have purpose, and we know we have value.

Share stories on social media of the impact all this is having on you and send to Limping Chicken, Graeae and other Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent companies so we can send to our cohort of allies.   

Graeae’s full statement is here. (BSL version being edited)

Graeae’s response on the impact of recent policy changes

Do join #takingthepip campaign.