Disability Information Handbook for Richmond upon Thames DISABILITY INFORMATION HANDBOOK Disability Information Handbook Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 Chapter 1 - About Richmond AID ............................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 – Social Services ....................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 3 – Health Services and Support ................................................................................ 11 Chapter 4 – Voluntary Care Groups, Social Groups and Day Centres ..................................... 20 Chapter 5 – Advice, Advocacy and Counselling ....................................................................... 25 Chapter 6 – Children, Families and Carers .............................................................................. 30 Chapter 7 – Self Directed Support ........................................................................................... 36 Chapter 8 – Transport .............................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 9 – Aids and Equipment ............................................................................................. 47 Chapter 10 – Leisure & Entertainment ..................................................................................... 52 Chapter 11 – Education, Employment and Volunteering .......................................................... 65 Chapter 12 – Benefits, Grants & Concessions ......................................................................... 70 Chapter 13 – Homes, Housing & Homelessness ..................................................................... 87 Chapter 14 – Computers and I.T. ............................................................................................. 96 Chapter 15 – Local Groups & Organisations ............................................................................ 97 Chapter 16 – National Organisations ..................................................................................... 101 Index ...................................................................................................................................... 107 2 DISABILITY INFORMATION HANDBOOK Introduction This Handbook gives lots of information about services available for disabled people, people with long-term and temporary health conditions and for carers and professionals. As well as lots of guidance and contact information there are links – marked in blue and underlined – throughout this document. If you click on the links you will be taken to a web address, email or other parts of this Handbook. This edition includes up-to-date information about social and health care services, benefits, aids and equipment, transport, advocacy, leisure and more. We list national and local disability groups and voluntary organisations for you to contact directly. If you can’t find what you are looking for from the contents page you can look in the index at the back for a full list of services. Some of the services and benefits we tell you about may depend on you meeting certain conditions or criteria. We can’t always give every detail about these, so contact our advisors for more information: call our Advice Service on 020 8831 6070 or email us at [email protected]. Information and contact details do change over time and if you find information here that is out of date, please contact us for current information and for us to correct this. We would like to thank all our volunteers and staff who helped make this Handbook. 3 DISABILITY INFORMATION HANDBOOK Chapter 1 - About Richmond AID Richmond Advice and Information on Disability is an organisation of and for disabled people. Our vision is of a world without barriers, where disabled people have the same independence and choices as non-disabled people. The Social Model of Disability is important to us. This model shows that disability is created by barriers in society, including the physical environment, people’s attitudes and in how services are provided and accessed. Richmond AID’s Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers contain a high proportion of disabled people and people with a personal experience of disability and mental health issues. For over 20 years Richmond AID has provided specialist advice and information to support disabled people to achieve independence and equality. Our services are for all disabled people including learning disabilities, physical and sensory disability and mental health issues. Here’s a list of the services and support we offer: Advice Service: A telephone, web, email and drop-in service staffed by trained Advisors. It provides up-to-date information on your rights, benefits, employment, housing, education, access, transport, equipment, leisure and more. Our clients are disabled people, their friends, relatives, carers, students, and professionals. Our Advisors will give you the time you need to explore and resolve your issues or concerns. Tel: 020 8831 6070 (Monday to Friday, 11am – 4pm) Address: Disability Action and Advice Centre, 4 Waldegrave Road, Teddington TW11 8HT. Parking is available. Email: [email protected] Web: www.richmondaid.org.uk 4 DISABILITY INFORMATION HANDBOOK Publications / Online Information: We publish a newsletter every 3 months, and many useful factsheets. We produce policy consultation responses, reports and this Handbook. Our website features all these and regularly updated news, events and a forum. You can find us on Twitter and Facebook where we publish up-to-the-minute news. Benefits Service: Gives free help face-to-face with our expert advisors or on the phone with form-filling and advice on all aspects of benefit claims. Call 020 8831 6080 or email [email protected] with any questions on benefits or to request an appointment. Children and Families Project: We work with the Family Information Service, the Carers Centre and Me, Too and Co on the ‘access project’ to support families with disabled children to claim all the benefits they are entitled to and have information about services and activities available. Call Yvonne Baxtrem on 020 8831 6080 (Mon and Fri) or email [email protected]. Richmond SPADE: A gardening service which Richmond AID runs with a team of volunteers. This project provides basic gardening services for disabled people. Call 020 8831 6415 or email: [email protected] for more information. Please leave a voicemail if you do not get through to our part-time SPADE Coordinator straight away. Volunteering: We have lots of volunteering opportunities from advice to gardening to newsletters writers. We have an excellent training programme for volunteers including NVQ’s, mentoring and one to one support. Contact Alex Brining on 020 8831 6071 or email [email protected] for volunteer vacancies. Community Involvement Project: Supports disabled people to get their voice heard. We have a range of opportunities for disabled people and carers to feed into shaping local services as well as the services of Richmond AID. Call Jamie Cutler on 020 8831 6072 or email [email protected]. 5 DISABILITY INFORMATION HANDBOOK Employment Project: We provide toolkits and training for employers and support disabled jobseekers back to work, training or education. Call Jamie Cutler on 020 8831 6072 or email [email protected]. Business Services: We have a range of Disability Awareness Training which we provide to businesses, as well as our Access Audits that enables employers, shops or businesses to become more accessible. We have worked with large local businesses including Kew Garden and Richmond Housing Partnership to supply training and access audits. Call Jamie Cutler on 020 8831 6072 or email [email protected]. Strategic Lead for Physical & Sensory Disability: We are funded by the Borough to provide support and information to voluntary agencies also working with people who have a physical and sensory impairment. We arrange meetings of the Physical and Sensory Disability Network (PSD Network) and advocate for this sector via a range of forums. Call Lucy Byrne on 020 8831 6077 or email [email protected]. Richmond AID is a Registered Charity, No. 1074788, and a Company Limited by Guarantee no. 3612476". We are affiliated to the National Association of Disability Information and Advice Lines (DIAL UK). Richmond AID has obtained DIAL UK’s Quality Standard, the Investors in People Quality Mark, and the Two Tick ‘Positive About Disability’ standard. Our Patrons are Sir Trevor McDonald, Dr Vince Cable MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Mat Fraser, Sir Donald Gosling. Our main funders are Hampton Fuel Allotment Charity, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the Trust for London, Aiming High the City Bridge Trust, the Big Lottery, Richmond Parish Lands Charity, Barnes Workhouse Trust and Richmond and Twickenham Primary Care Trust. 6 DISABILITY INFORMATION HANDBOOK Chapter 2 – Social Services This chapter has information on Richmond Council’s Adult Community Services. They provide social care and help at home; occupational therapy, respite care, residential care, home adaptations and other services. For information about day centres and social groups, see Chapter 4 – Voluntary Care Groups, Social Groups and Day Centres. Social Care and Support Services