Each winter, public services often come under pressure due to severe weather, flu etc and Volunteer Cornwall can support people who may require assistance at those times by arranging volunteers who can collect prescriptions, help to keep pavements and driveways clear of ice and snow, driving etc.

The scheme can now assist people who are experiencing other forms of severe weather such floods. If you don’t have anybody who can look out for you in the event of severe weather, then contact the relevant office for your area listed below.

Tel: 01579 344818

Email:

Tel: 01726 71087

Email:

Tel: 01209 217614

Email:

BeMe - the new service set up to improve the mental health of people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

It is part of a national network of services known as ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT). NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly approved the new provider after a formal commissioning process at the end of 2012. BeMe is a mental well-being service provided by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

“Self-referral is really useful because we know when people call us they are ready to get help. People’s experiences are different and so are their needs. BeMe is designed to give people the skills they need to help themselves. Specially trained practitioners will help people understand the options available including individual work and a range of courses and groups.”

The service is available from Monday to Friday between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm, with some evening appointments available. BeMe offers help to anyone over the age of 16 who needs it. It’s free and confidential service which is provided as part of the NHS.

People can still visit their GP for help. GPs plus other health and social care professionals can make a referral to BeMe.

More information can be found by contacting the BeMe team on the below details.

T: 01579 373700

E:

www.cornwallfoundationtrust.nhs.uk/cft/BeMe.asp

T: 01736 365628

YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED  

Another group of claimants has secured legal support to challenge the last-minute change to the personal independence payment (PIP) regulations which deny enhanced rate mobility to anyone who can stand and move more than 20 metres.

They will be arguing that the failure to consult about the reduction of the limit from 50 metres to 20 metres means that the change is unlawful and should thus be quashed.  If successful it would be a bigger blow to the government than today’s forced labour ruling.  The result would be that the DWP would be obliged to consult all over  again on the changes before they can be introduced.  In the end they can still ignore the results of a new consultation, but they will face a very determined battle and will have no opportunity to claim that disability organisations supported the changes.

At the very least it would set the introduction of PIP back months.  At best it could even result in a fairer set of rules for the mobility component.

But the campaigners desperately need claimants who fit very tightly defined criteria to come forward to be the ones who actually challenge the DWP.

 In order to bring the case, assisted by  Leigh Day solicitors and barristers from Doughty Street Chambers, they need claimants:

Who are eligible for legal aid – check your eligibility here  (external site)

Who currently have a DLA award including Higher Rate Mobility component

Whose DLA award is NOT due to expire until after October 2013

Who, on re-assessment under PIP, whenever that occurs, are at risk of losing out on the enhanced mobility component of PIP because they can walk over 20 metres or so but cannot walk up to 50 metres. 

Who do NOT have any difficulty planning or following a journey (eg due to mental health, cognitive or sensory impairment).

There are other criteria which are desirable rather than essential, which you can read about on the blog (external site) of highly respected and experienced ‘We Are Spartacus’ campaigner Jane Young.

If you think you fit the criteria and are willing to take part, please contact Jane via her contact form as soon as possible, time is very short.

Pat’s Petition calls on the Government to stop and review the proposed cuts to benefits & services and on 6 February some of the Pat's Petition team visited Westminster to meet the Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary, Liam Byrne and Anne McGuire, Labour MP.

A message of support from Disability Cornwall was one of the many handed to Liam Byrne who said he would give Pat’s Petition an Opposition Day Debate to call for a Cumulative Impact Assessment on the cuts due to be implemented from this April.

They now need YOUR help. If you have been assessed for any of the new benefits or experienced a cut to a service you use, please contact your MP, tell them about the forthcoming debate and ask them to speak during it.

This debate must drive home the need for a Cumulative Impact Assessment as people are feeling the cuts and loss of income at the same time as being hit with new taxes. Far too many individuals & families are going to be hit from several angles

Disabled people have never faced an onslaught like this before and every
letter / campaign / lobby of MPs / protests / petitions have all led us to take
this united stand.


With thanks to Pat’s Petition & Carer Watch

Thousands of carers in England, Wales and Scotland are set to lose benefits when new disability-claim rules start.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says 5,000 carers currently eligible for a £58.45 a week allowance will no longer be when personal independence payments replace the disability living allowance this April.

It says the changes are necessary and 20,000 additional carers should gain.

Charity Carers UK says this is "cold comfort" to those who will miss out.

More than a million people receive carer's allowance. And for about 270,000 of them, this entitlement is dependent on the eligibility for the disability living allowance (DLA) of someone of working age for whom they care.

Please see the below link for the full story on the BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21432659

Channel 4 are currently producing a documentary about sex and disability.

The documentary aims to explore this topic in a revolutionary way and highlight some of the obstacles people face when it comes to their sexuality and having a disability.

The documentary will not only give people with disabilities the opportunity to voice their feelings about their sexuality but for anyone with a disability who watches it, it will show that there are many different options out there when it comes to sex and relationships.

If you are interested in speaking to Channel 4 about being part of the documentary please contact Becky Casey on the below contact details

T: 0207 349 3490

E:

Vigil to save Independent Living Fund & Your Right to Independent Living

Join DPAC on 13^th March 2013 12.30 pm outside front entrance Royal Courts of Justice, the Strand, London, WC2A 2LL .

Funding for care and support for disabled people and especially for those with the most complex needs to live independently can come from 3 separate funding streams, social services, health and from the Independent Living Fund.

The Independent Living Fund is a ring fenced resource, for a priority group of just over 19,000 disabled people with high support needs that can provide a better lifestyle and outcomes for service users whose full needs would not be met by local authority funding.

Unlike local authority and health care funding which tends to focus simply on keeping disabled people alive and clean the funding available from ILF helps disabled people to take part in society on an equal basis to non-disabled people.

The closure of the ILF has obvious implications for the UK’s chances of meeting all such obligations. Most importantly for those disabled people who will lose this financial support they will lose any independence and choice in their lives. You can listen to how this will affect disabled people at the below links.

http://www.dpac.uk.net/2013/02/a-nasty-cut-people-affected-by-the-closure-of-the-independent-l5142/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMElPk0pq6I

For further information please contact DPAC direct by using their contact form at the below link

http://www.dpac.uk.net/contact/

Stop Hate UK has launched a new 24 hour helpline service, Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime, in England and Wales.

The new service is funded by the Ministry of Justice Victim and Witness Fund.

People in England and Wales who have experienced, witnessed or know someone who is experiencing Learning Disability Hate Crime can contact the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline for support and information.

The helpline is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

It is free to call the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline from landlines and most mobiles.

The helpline number is below

 T: 0808 802 1155

www.stophateuk.org