A Profile on Disability Support
Disability Support for Nottingham and County
By Dionne Hunte
My name is Dionne, and I’m a new digital marketing volunteer for Disability Support.
After speaking with some of the team, I left understanding how supportive and dedicated the people at Disability Support are and what the charity does for their community, Nottingham and the County.
Disability Support helps disabled people, older people, carers, communities, professionals and more. It’s a charity run for disabled people, by disabled people.
I spoke with Simon first; he is the PA to the CEO, Charlotte. Simon handles anything that isn’t service-specific, alongside the CEO. In summary: he helps run events, does odd jobs, manages the buildings and admin work, attends seminars, and manages partnerships Disability Support is associated with, like My Sight Notts and Disability Direct.
He does anything and everything.
He gave me a tour of the building: the reception, three meeting rooms, toilets, a community activity space, the kitchen, and the areas outside they want to turn into a garden.
He wants to create a wildflower garden for bees; it’s a passion project he wants to start next spring.
Additionally, Simon is a very proud dog dad to Juno.
Jo is a client and a volunteer at Disability Support. She has been here for four years. She first started with a yoga class they offered that matched her mobility needs. Now she helps with dash groups for events held in the building, bringing teas and coffees for attendees and employees.
Jo also heads the gardening project at Disability Support. The plan is to build a sensory garden surrounding the building.
When I asked Jo about her views on Disability Support and the service it provides, she said she received help with grief support, getting a blue badge and a bus pass. The support helped her gain back her confidence to move forward with her life.
Jo summarised Disability Support as “a charity that helps everyone; people can feel safe but not patronised."
Charlotte is the creator and CEO of Disability Support.
She wants to spread awareness of the services Disability Support provides internally, and the outreach work they do outside. Charlotte never wants to turn people away; if Disability Support can’t help, we find other paths to get people the help they need. If the situation was related to mental health struggles, grief, or addiction Charlotte wants the charity to be a starting point for people to get help.
Charlotte wants to spread awareness and keep the knowledge of Disability Support growing so more people can receive help they may need, grow their steady community, and hold more community events.
A future goal Charlotte is aiming towards is to provide more support for disabled youth. She wants to show more of what Disability Support can provide in addition to the everyday work.
Charlotte is a proud pet mum to various lizards, snakes, kittens, a dogs one who is a mastiff called Indie who is a theraphy animal at Disability Support.
The National Lottery Community Fund has supported Disability Support. The money funds the core services. The rest of the running costs are funded from fundraising events, and money collected from donations.
Craig is a volunteer who is proud to be a member of Disability Support team, and he has volunteered with charities for over ten years. He works as a receptionist and helps with client bookings and enquiries. Craig worked as a theatre practitioner for over thirty-three years until spine difficulties meant he could no longer safely do the job he loved.
When I asked Craig about his views on Disability Support, he said the team are “supportive people”, and he has seen the impact of the work done for the people using Disability Support services.
Tam is our receptionist at Disability Support; she helps with client bookings, enquiries, and admin work. She used to work as a teacher but has left that profession. Tam wanted a job where she could still help people, and motivation led her to find Disability Support.
When I asked Tam about her views on Disability Support, she said the charity “supports growth” with both employees and clients.
And Tam is a proud dog mum to Bou Bou.
Louisa is a benefits advisor; she helps with PIP information, benefits claims, and attends tribunals for clients and much more. She used to work as a nurse.
In this role, the benefits advisors often have many difficult conversations with clients, to get the relevant information needed for claims. The team has steps in place for when emotions get high, and Louisa said she received incredible support when matters get tough, and with managing her neurodivergence needs.
When I asked Louisa about her views on Disability Support, she said Disability Support “supports all clients” and that the staff knows how to “balance strengths (to get office work done), and they are wonderful, creative, and supportive. And they are welcoming and easy to connect with.”
Additionally, Louisa is a proud dog mum to Reggie a French Bulldog, one of the therapy dogs at Disability Support.
Sue is the manager of the benefits advisor’s team; she helps with PIP information, benefits claims, attends tribunals for clients, and runs coffee mornings at The Dales Centre Library in Sneinton.
Sue wants to ensure the clients who come to Disability Support are receiving the correct claims they are entitled to; she prides herself on understanding the benefits systems and criteria people match. It’s not a straightforward process, but Sue and her team always aim to find the right outcome, whether it’s help directly from Disability Support or elsewhere. She wants to “make voices heard.”
Sue and her team will go through the whole process, from filling out forms, submitting the claim, helping with appeals if they are needed, they will attend tribunals, alongside the client if matters reach that stage.
When I asked Sue about her views on Disability Support, “we teach people to push themselves.” Just because a person has a disability does not mean they should be limited in life.
Disability Support runs a couple of events directly in the building; I got to attend two of them.
The Social Group
There is a social group every Wednesday from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm for people to get together, talk, and play games. I sat in on one meeting and was immediately included in conversations and a game of Scrabble.
It was a free space for people to be a part of a community. Some people may have shared life experiences or be complete opposites, but the space allows them to come together for that time.
The main motivative was to have a time for different people to meet and help reduce the loneliness people deal with.
I noticed:
All ages are accepted, but the group is for adults.
The conversations are friendly.
Everyone in the group was greeted as they came in and were included in conversations.
People checked in to see how each other was doing.
Games were played, and everyone’s wants were considered before a game was chosen and seeing who felt like playing.
Attendees made donations to Disability Support when they ordered teas or coffees.
The environment was safe and comfortable enough that the group was able to have difficult conversations without arguments starting.
People could be as engaged as they want, talking more or less; it felt comfortable.
Early Onset Dementia Group
On Friday, bi-weekly, there is a dementia support group for anyone of working age living with Dementia. The attendees choose how they want to spend their time, whether it’s having a chat, doing an activity or having lunch; Disability Support provides a location for the group to meet up.
While we were there, some of the members shared previous experiences with other dementia support groups. They mentioned that they were treated like children who didn’t understand basic tasks, or they were grouped with other people whose dementia was further progressed than their own; there was little in between in terms of treatment, little respect or autonomy.
At Disability Support, we want to let people be, do activities they feel like, talk and find a community - there are no set schedule or activates that people must follow.
What I noticed and learned:
There are no set schedules for activities or how the session time is run.
Attendees can talk and build a community.
There are options for puzzles or brain-engaging activities, but they aren’t mandatory or offered.
Some support animals come into the sessions.
Attendees freely shared stories about moments in their lives; they talked freely and without judgment, and they could laugh.
People can be as engaged as they want; they can join conversations or sit and enjoy the environment.
Most of the other support groups members has previously attended, had been patronising because they don’t assess people's stages of dementia and treat it like a one-size-fits-all.
Disability Support is a charity for disabled people run by disabled people, who care enough to support clients to the best of their ability.
If Disability Support sounds like a place that can be helpful to you, contact us by phone, email and out our social media pages and website for more information.
We want to connect with people.
If a service that disability support provide could be useful for you, please contact us.
Comments