About us
Equality B&NES began in July 2009. We received funding from Bath and North East Somerset Council and the Primary Care Trust (NHS B&NES) to develop a representative voice for disabled people who live and work in the area. We succeeded the Disability Equality Forum which was run by the West of England Centre for Inclusive Living. Equality B&NES is hosted by Bath and North East Somerset People First, a well-established organisation working mostly with people with learning difficulties.
Who do we mean by disabled people?
Equality B&NES believes that disability goes far beyond the stereotypical image of someone who uses a wheelchair, or who is accompanied by a guidedog. We want to reach anyone who has a long-term health condition (including mental health conditions) which affects their day to day life in some way. You don’t need to think of yourself as “disabled” or use the word to describe yourself. If you find that you come up against barriers because of your health condition, or people seem to make judgements about what you can and cannot do, we want to hear from you. As Equality B&NES is part of Bath and North East Somerset People First we are able to support people with learning difficulties to get involved in our work and we believe it is important that their views are reflected in what we say.
Our Values
Equality B&NES believes that all disabled people should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and live active lives in their community. Our work is underpinned by the social model of disability which means we identify the barriers which exclude disabled people rather seeing disability as a problem.
How we work
Equality B&NES aims to reach as many disabled people of all ages in the area as possible and offer a range of ways for them to get involved. We believe that the traditional way of consulting disabled people at a meeting excludes many who cannot get there, those who don’t feel comfortable speaking in public, and those who simply have other things to do with their time. In particular we want to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the internet to reach people in their homes and give them the chance, at a time which suits them, to let us know what is important to them. We recognise that not everyone has access to the internet so we will still use the regular post for those who prefer it. We can be contacted by telephone and we will be continuing a regular programme of Open Meetings.
You can get involved in Equality B&NES in many ways:
- Send us a message telling us about what is interesting you at the moment. We will post it on this site and other disabled people can add their views.
- Become a member (link) and we will ask you questions about the issues we are working on and invite you to meetings
- Read the news (link) and consultation (link) sections on our website and use the ‘contact us’ page (link) to send us your views
- From time to time we will invite members to join focus groups to discuss particular topics
- Come along to our open meetings and hear presentations on topical issues and tell us about how you are being affected
Equality B&NES Steering Group
A small group of Equality B&NES members helps guide the work of the organisation. They agree the priority issues on which we work and themselves lead on particular subjects. Current members are:
- Jayne Pye – leading on health
- Sue Langdon – leading on access and the built environment
- Jamie Reeves
- Vanessa Walker Henderson
- Matt Stabb
- Dee Stainer
- Jenny Shrubsall
- Laura Rowsell
Our staff
Two members of staff work directly for Equality B&NES.
- Will Bee – Development Worker
- Mat Owen – Project Worker
Both Mat and Will work part-time. Their role is to try to keep in touch with what is happening in B&NES that affects disabled people and share the information in ways that helps Equality B&NES members give informed feedback. Will and Mat will both represent Equality B&NES at meetings when members are unable to attend, but what they say is informed by the views of members. In addition, Meri Rizk, the General Manager of Bath and North East Somerset People First, oversees the project and frequently speaks for Equality B&NES at meetings she attends.
