It was a great pleasure last week to meet the staff at CASBA, Ginny, Becky and Sally, along with the participants in CASBA’s Link group.
During term time, CASBA run LINK in Selly Oak, which is a self-advocacy group that empowers disabled people from south Birmingham to get active in their local communities to ensure that their voices are listened to, their views respected and their rights protected.
During my visit, I listened to Rita and Jen, two of Link’s participants, deliver presentations on work that they have been doing. Recently, Rita had completed an investigation into the accessibility and inclusivity of bus networks in the West Midlands for disabled people. Jen talked about Link’s recent activities, including their Christmas social and their meetings with West Midlands Police and health and social care students at Birmingham City University.
Link meetings regularly attract 15-17 participants and a massive congratulations is in order, as Link recently received 18 months’ worth of additional funding.
The work that CASBA do is invaluable, especially since only 6% of people in the UK with learning difficulties are in employment and that figure is 1.6% in Birmingham. Disabled people must have their voices heard, their views respected and their rights protected and advanced. A truly progressive and open society can only be achieved when disabled people are treated as what they are, human beings who are alive with potential and possibility. CASBA is working to ensure that that potential and possibility is realised.
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