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Freedom and Choice session 1 Adolf Ratzka
IMAGE: Screenshot of Adolf Ratzka
As part of ILMI’s Freedom and Choice Event - marking 30 years of independent living in Ireland, we had our first of four online sessions on Wednesday evening last. Adolf Ratzka joined us to talk about the importance of independent living to disabled people.
Adolf kicked off by telling us that he believed the “Godfather of Independent Living was indeed Martin Naughton” and not himself. Adolf believed that Martin was “very crafty, very creative, and an organisational genius, a true Godfather”. Martin once called Adolf the “Pope of Independent Living” which he didn’t agree with because the pope at that time was a conservative German.
Adolf’s personal definition of Independent Living has been influenced by many other disabled people over the years. He sees it as a philosophy and a movement of disabled people who work for self-determination, equal opportunities, and self-respect.
Independent living does not describe an ideal situation or an ideal society, rather it is goal, a process, a mental attitude. Independent Living does not mean we want to do everything by ourselves, or that we do not need anybody, or that we want to live in isolation. Independent Living means that we demand the same choices and control in our lives that our non-disabled brothers and sisters take for granted.
Since disabled people are the “best experts on our own needs”, we need to articulate the solutions we want, we need to be in charge of our lives, to think and speak for ourselves, just as everybody else does. To this end we must support and learn from each other. We must organise ourselves and collectively work for political change that leads to the legal protection and implementation of our human and civil rights.
“As long as we regard our impairments as tragedies we will be pitied, as long as we feel ashamed of who we are we will be regarded as useless, as long as we remain silent others will tell us what to do”.
Adolf also spoke about the importance of understanding the cycle of dependency and de-medicalising and de-professionalising our disability supportive structures that systematically exclude us from living like everybody else.
He spoke about institutional support versus direct payments that empower disabled people to employ their own personal assistance from service providers of their choosing. “So disabled people become consumers and they hold the purchasing power.”
“What we achieved in the past may not be around tomorrow, for example it is becoming increasingly difficult to qualify for a direct payment in Sweden, 80% of new applicants are turned down, and you need legal support to appeal the decision”.
Adolf’s Final Words…
“We can never relax, we can never become complacent, we need to be vigilant all the time as individuals and as a collective. It is not enough to know your rights, to know the UNCRPD. We need to learn how to use the law as a tool for claiming our rights, in court if necessary”.
FREEDOM and CHOICE Marking 30 years of Independent Living in Ireland - Session 2
Peer Mentoring and its Importance to Disabled People
IMAGE: poster of stacked blocks with text that reads" Peer mentoring and its importance to disabled people, 13th Oct 6pm email info@ilmi.ie to register" and the ILMI logo
"It is my lived experience that there is no disability activist untouched by this empowering reciprocal relationship"
Session 2 - Pauline Conroy with Marie Meagher (Researchers) and Eileen Daly (Research Co-Ordinator) will present the findings of the Peer Mentoring Research that was commissioned by the AT Network Date - 13th Oct Time - 6 pm to 7 pm
Máire Meagher is an independent Researcher and published report writer with much of her work focused on supporting the rights of disabled people to participate in decision-making processes that affect their daily lives. She is currently working with families of young adults with intellectual impairments in Tralee on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.
Dr Pauline Conroy has lectured and written extensively on disability rights and themes. In her book A Bit Different she addresses the issue of independent living and the history of policies in relation to disability thinking.
Eileen Daly graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree in 1997 and is a qualified Guidance Counsellor and Life/Career Coach. Eileen is passionate about equal access to inclusive services and empowerment for all. She has experience in various roles within disability, advocacy and education. She has worked in Further and Higher Education as a Disability Officer and Career Guidance Practitioner supporting students at various stages of educational transition since 2002. In addition, she has worked in her current role in The National Learning Network and the City of Dublin Education and Training Board for the past nineteen years. She is currently a member of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
Previously, she has worked as a Careers Adviser for Students with Disabilities in Trinity College Dublin on an multi award winning Genio funded initiative; Career Pathways ~ Transition to Employment Project. The aim of Career Pathways was to support students and disabled graduates in the transition from education to employment. Eileen is a disability activist and campaigner and she is an active member of the Independent Living and Disability Rights Movement.
Date - 13th Oct Time - 6 pm to 7 pm
A Zoom Link will be sent out to you on Thursday morning next if you have already registered (for Adolf Ratzka) If you would like to attend email info@ilmi.ie
SFC Project update
On Monday night, the Strategies for Change class welcomed Catherine Lane to discuss the Public Participation Networks (PPN’s). They are a mechanism for people and local groups to Influence decisions that impact their communities. It’s a mechanism for DPO’s (Disabled Persons Organisations) to ensure their perspective is heard in a meaningful way, “Nothing about us, without us”
PPNs were set up to enable community groups to be represented and to feed into local government decision-making. The PPN is made up of three Pillars: community and voluntary, social inclusion and environment. Each PPN member chooses which of the Pillars is most relevant to them. The Pillars nominate and elect people from within their Member Groups to represent them on some of the Boards and Committees set up by the Local Authorities and other bodies. This is key to the participation part of the PPNs. This is how the voices of Member Groups are included and heard when it comes to the policy decision-making.
There are five Linkage Groups, Social Inclusion, Rural Development and Community Safety, Environment and Climate change, Arts, Heritage and Sports and Housing, Planning and Transport. These are formed to rally around specific interests, they bring together stakeholder organisations with a common interest to discuss their diverse views and they elect someone to represent them on Boards, Committees or Advisory Groups where that specific interest is being discussed. This in turn, helps the member organisations to gain a deeper understanding of the local policy process.
So why should groups join their local PPN? You will have the opportunity to contribute to local policy on topics like housing, planning and social inclusion, access funding, free training and free advertising in the newsletter.
The PPN should be the “go to“organisation for all bodies in a county / city who wish to benefit from community and voluntary expertise at their table. The PPN should also be proactive in promoting the benefits of community representation on Boards and Committees.
Written by Nicola Meacle
What do Disabled People want from Disability Service Providers: A Consultation to explore how disabled people can inform the delivery of their services Tuesday 11th October 11am to 1pm
IMAGE: Television service disrupted test card with text that reads "What do Disabled People want from Disability Service Providers: A Consultation to explore how disabled people can inform the delivery of their services Tuesday 11th October 11am to 1pm" register email info@ilmi.ie and the ILMI logo.
ILMI as a Disabled Persons Organisation (DPO) recognises that many disabled people receive services through Disability Service Providers that allow them to live independent lives, with freedom, choice and control. Many of these services are vital to ensuring disabled people can be part of society, living their lives in an inclusive way based on principles of rights and equality.
However, how much control do disabled people have over these services? And what strategies can ILMI as a DPO put forward for how the Sector can be accountable to the needs and wishes of disabled people.
Join us on Zoom for an interactive discussion space for disabled people to discuss developing a position paper on Disability Services. This will take place on Tuesday 11th October from 11am.
To register email info@ilmi.ie
ILMI “Education Equal to Others” Consultation
IMAGE: photo of autumnal leaves with one green leaf standing out from the other with text that reads “ILMI “Education Equal to Others” Consultation, Tuesday 18th October 11am to 1pm email info@ilmi.ie to register” and the ILMI logo.
Tuesday 18th October 11am to 1pm
Article 24 of the UNCRPD guarantees a right to disabled people to education equal to others and calls on States to “ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning”.
In the last twelve months there has been an increasing call for “special” schools, “special classes” and reversal of hard fought gains that disabled people had campaigned for. Going hand-in-hand with this has been the transfer of Therapy services from the Children’s Disability networks to Special education locations.
ILMI is keen to explore this with disabled people to develop an analysis of how to practically implement the UNCRPD in relation to article 24 and key campaign asks to bring to the Department of Education and political parties.
This consultation will take place on Zoom on the 18th October from 11am to 1pm. To participate, email info@ilmi.ie
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