Freedom! Independence! Being able to leave the house!  These are all things that most people take for granted, but if you have a disability that affects your mobility, they often become treasured.  Until I got my wheelchair, leaving…

The City of York Council Licensing and Regulatory Committee met on 26th April. On the agenda (item 6) was a report about businesses reopening with pavement cafés which stated there were no equality implications surrounding this. We strongly…

On the 6th May you can vote for the next Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for North Yorkshire. We asked all four of the candidates to give us a statement on how they plan to address the…

We invited Make it York and City of York Council to tell us about the outside seating that’s being introduced as part of the plans to reopen the city. Here you can find out about the ways that…

Spring is arriving and we’re starting to think about how nice it’d be to go for a wander in nature. We’ve asked around and discovered your favourite accessible walks! Let us know if the comments if we’ve missed…

Elki lives in York and relies on using her Blue Badge to be able to park near enough to the places she needs and wants to go. In this Member’s Voice post, Elki writes about what she sees…

We have been made aware that people applying for, and renewing, Blue Badges have been asked to attend face to face assessments. This is clearly concerning during a global pandemic when many people have still not recieved a…

TLDR: The treatment of people on legacy benefits is yet one more case where disabled people have been left behind and forgotten about during (and before) the pandemic. Here Helen talks about why the £20 uplift to Universal…

Concerns about disabled access into and around York city centre are growing as the city thinks about ‘opening up’ and the removal of Blue Badge access remains in place. Added to this now are concerns around the accessibility…

On Easter Monday, 5th April, a few of us are getting together for a friendly chat on Zoom, where we’ll be disabled people from York, talking to other disabled people from York. That’s it! We’re happy to answer…

In this post Helen talks to Marilyn to find out a bit more about her as well as York Human Rights City Network. Marilyn is a member of the Forum Steering Group and brings so much energy and…

During the week 6th – 18th March York celebrates International Women’s Week with a full programme of events on this year’s theme ‘Women in a Time of Plague’. This year we’re pleased to be taking part in a…

We know dropped kerbs are a big issue and now is your chance to have a say on the issue.City of York Council are currently consulting on the process involved in applying for vehicle crossings which by extension…

When you rely on dropped kerbs to get around in York it can be so frustrating and even dangerous when your route is blocked by a vehicle parked across them. Thanks to some detective work by ‘Our Helen’…

Here is some information on getting a COVID-19 vaccination in York that might be useful for anyone feeling anxious or apprehensive about the process. Information is based on some individual experiences of people in York who have received…

In this post we talk to Bill Clayton to find out about The York ME Community and his views and experiences of life with ME. Bill is a member of the Forum Steering Group and is a vital…

People worry about using the wrong language or accidentally insulting someone by using the wrong terminology.  Whilst it’s obviously important to treat people with respect, it’s also ok to get it wrong now and then.  So long as…

In this post we talk to Eleanor to find out a bit more about her and her time with MySight York. She is a member of the Forum Steering Group and brings some valuable perspectives and experiences to…

This is the follow-up to a previous Member’s Voice post about one family’s experience of lockdown. We suggest going to read the post ‘Where Were We Then…?’ before this one to learn more about Ben and Anna. Here…

In this post we hear from Anna about the ups and downs she and her son Ben, who lives with learning disabilities, experienced during the first lockdown. A bit about Ben Ben’s passion for music and phenomenal music…

If you’re getting a new device or bit of tech to replace last year’s stuff then why not donate it to York’s IT Reuse Scheme and give it a new lease of life, along with the opportunity for…

Yesterday I watched the festive rom-com ‘Christmas Ever After’. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of romance films, not a fan of Christmas and certainly not a fan of the combination of the two! However, I had heard that…

This was our first time joining in with York Disability Week, and we’re so happy we did! There were lots of fantastic events available throughout the week, giving everyone in York the chance to come together to learn…

We held our first public meeting on 3rd December, also known as the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities! It was also part of York Disability Week which included some other great events. At the meeting, we…

As part of York Disability Week, Helen met with Ellen Clifford, author of the incredible book, The War on Disabled People. Ellen began the event with an introduction to herself and the book, and read a small section…

Today we hear from Mick, one of our members, about the city centre blue badge parking issue. Welcome to Disability History Month (18th November – 20th December) and in particular the run up to York Disability Week (28th…

Today we spoke at a meeting of the Executive of City of York Council on the future of the extended footstreets, or the pedestrianised areas of York city centre. Below is the statement we delivered. The full meeting…

An exciting job opportunity for someone passionate about disability rights in York is open for applications now. The position is for a coordinator with York Human Rights City Network in their disability programme. This is an exciting opportunity…

Recently, Joe, an MSc student from the University of York got in touch to tell us about his research into the accessibility of interactive media. He’s specifically looking at whether personalisation of websites and user interfaces can be…

What is ableism? “In its most boiled-down, squished together, simplified form, ableism is the process of favoring, fetishizing, and building the world around a mostly imagined, idealized body while discriminating against those bodies perceived to move, see, hear,…

England is once again facing lockdown, and we know, from our own experiences and our recent annual survey, that restrictions are hard on people’s physical and mental health. We expect this is going to be worse given it’s…

Over the summer, changes were made to Blue Badge parking in the city centre as a result of Covid 19 and the need for social distancing. At the time, we received numerous emails from people in York and…