"Negative attitudes toward disabled people remain prominent in Britain and people with a mental health condition, learning disability or memory impairment remain particularly likely to be stigmatised," Equality and Human Rights report 2017.
Disabled people are being left behind and are living in poverty with very poor life chances, the damning report has concluded. For many of us the findings come as no surprise. The obvious - 'in your face' discrimination name calling or being talk down to are painful to experience but those are not the most damaging. The hidden discrimination is hard for people to recognise, harder for people to accept and has been so much harder to change:
Disability West Lothian and friends don't think 'we' have done enough. We work to raise awareness, to educate, to tackle the obvious and the hidden discrimination. Do join with us, do share with us, do work with us to help make equality real.
Disability West Lothian has received an award of £79,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to undertake an exciting new project, 'Back to the Future West Lothian'. The two-year project will create a unique oral history archive focusing on disability in West Lothian since before WWII. Here, around 30 local volunteers and 60 school pupils will receive professional oral history training and interview 50+ respondents who have experiences of disability.
Disability West Lothian will offer opportunities for cross-generational exploration of experiences and compare any similarities and differences from the past with more recent experiences. Key themes are disability and: youth; education; outings; transport; events; etc. We are particularly keen to explore how people with disabilities have shaped and influenced West Lothian's landscapes and buildings, just as these have influenced and shaped them.
The interviews will be audio or video recorded and deposited with an authorised repository in West Lothian at the end of the project. Additional volunteers and students will work with Dr Sue Morrison, an oral historian, and a film maker and be supported to produce a variety of heritage outputs, including filmed interviews, videos addressing the project's main themes, website content and reading packs, an oral history-based booklet and a host of interactive public engagement events.
This innovative project, 'Back to the Future West Lothian' will capture the history of disability, challenges, successes and hopes.
For further information and to participate please contact:
Mr Gordon Mungall, Chair, Disability West Lothian
01506 774030
07729 198594
administrator@
Volunteers still needed for our mystery shopper project.
This is your opportunity to help us highlight the barriers experienced by people with a disability whilst shopping, socialising or participating in other activities in your community. If you would like to take part, please provide your details here.
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