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Disability Information Training Opportunity

DITO NEWS

Here is information of all the projects and upcoming events that are going on at DITO. The website will be updated with news every month with the help of visitors of the website and possibly by students of web design trained by myself, Sadi.

Please feel free to email me with any suggestions you may have regarding the website at sadi@ditoth.org

EmployAbility

Always looking for the right job? If so let’s start by being prepared!

EmployAbility programme is aimed at Empowering people who have difficulties and barriers in gaining access into employment.

The programme is designed to prepare you in whatever career direction you choose whether that be full or part time employment.

For more information click on the link below

Always looking for the right job or contact Stacey on stacey.peterson@ditoth.org 020 7364 6564

Hi, my name is Rob Johnson and I am the Training Co-ordinator at Dito. We are currently running new I.T. courses.

I.T. courses

For Beginners – an introduction to computer use, basic word processing skills (producing simple documents like letters), Internet access & email.

For Users With Some Experience – more extensive word processing skills (e.g. producing a CV), an introduction to System Management (that’s skills to get the best from your computer setting up the Desktop & using Windows Explorer).

For Work Based Skills – a range of office skills are available including spreadsheet (Excel) & database production (Access), mail merge (Word / Access) & presentations (Powerpoint).

Multimedia – working with digital cameras and movie production (Windows Movie Maker), music workshops & CD burning (Windows Media Player).

Web Design – our own dedicated web designer, Sadi, will shortly, be offering courses in design & implementation of websites.

As well as a dedicated computer training network we have a range of additional accessibility equipment to help users with specialist needs. These include trackballs, high visibility keyboards, JAWs speakback system.

For visually impaired clients, we have JAWs tuition available from our specialist trainer, John Flynn.

If you are interested in any of our courses, in the first instance, please contact Rob Johnson, Training Co-ordinator at Dito on the office number or email at info@Ditoth.org

User Involvement Coordinator Post

My name is Michael Shamash. I am the User Involvement Coordinator at DITO. One aspect of my job is providing support to the Service Users’ Forum for people with a sensory or physical impairment. This means that I make sure that the meeting runs smoothly.

I am contacting different groups of disabled people within Tower Hamlets. This involves visiting day centres, housing organisations, events etc. I am keen to discuss issues that concern disabled people in the borough and I can be contacted by email at michael.shamash@ditoth.org or phone on 020 7364 6560

INFORMATION AND PEER ADVOCACY PROJECT

WHAT IS PEER ADVOCACY?

Peer advocacy groups are specifically those groups whose members conduct advocacy only on behalf of their peers. Many people report that they only want people who are in the same situation as themselves, or have been through the same experiences, acting on their behalf as an advocate. For example, a consumer peer advocacy group may take up general issues which affect their members such as stigma, discrimination, accommodation and rights. Peer advocacy groups work on the basis of mutual support, common interests and issues

Here at Dito we have a Peer advocacy group of people with disabilities who will work with you to resolve any issue you may have such as housing, benefits employment or any other issues. For more information contact Dito and ask for Lucy

The aims of the project are to:-

• assist disabled people in Tower Hamlets with issues that concern them and ones they may like to share with others, so that we work towards solving them in ways people wish;
• provide information in different, accessible ways on a range of matters affecting disabled people in our local community so we can bring about a better, expanded information service available to everyone.

To meet these aims, we have started recruiting and training disabled volunteers to assist with the provision of information and developing a local peer advocacy network and we plan to develop this further. We are also working towards setting up networks of peer advocates, who would reach into the borough to help people who find it difficult to come to us at the DITO office, to talk about what concerns them and their issues. This is now being successfully piloted with a local group from the Coburn Centre, who have started coming together, planning sessions and advocating for themselves around matters of transport with support from DITO. Our objective is to expand networks like this, so that disabled people in the borough will have gain more choice and control in their daily lives.

If you are disabled and interested in becoming a volunteer with this project, please contact Lucy on 020 7364 6564 or e mail us @ lucy.hedges@ditoth.org.Please also get in touch if you are interested in becoming part of a peer advocacy network.

COMMUNITY NEWS

11/06/09 | Conference of the UK Vision Strategy

Dito volunteer, Bridie McDonagh, attended the conference. She was especially impressed by a workshop she attended in the afternoon on emotional support and felt the experience to be positive. The workshop dealt with both support for the VI person AND also help for the, often neglected, family support network, so, all in all a very worthwhile experience.

The UK Vision Strategy is a ground-breaking VISION2020 UK initiative,
led by RNIB, to develop a unified plan for action on all issues relating to sight loss and eye
health, across the four countries of the UK. More details on UK VisionStrategy

WWW.vision2020uk.org.uk/ukvisionstrategy

Phtos taken by Mr Philip Wade

Equality 2025, 30th June 2009

On Tuesday 30th June 2009 staff and volunteers from DITO attended the Equality 2025 event which was held at the West Ham Football Stadium hall in Newham. The event was well organised where many disabled people from different backgrounds and cultures took part. Various organisations were also present. Everyone had a chance to put there views across on various topics. A vote took place where majority, if not all, participants agreed that the aims and objectives of the Equality 2025 should be achieved by 2015 thereby changing the name to Equality 2015.
All results, views and demands were record so that they can be passed on and presented to the government when representatives of Equality 2025 will meet with them.

Equality 2025 is a network of disabled people which advises the Westminster Government on how to achieve disability equality.

To f ind out more about Equality 2025, click on this link..

EmployAbility Training

Do you live in Tower Hamlets preferably with a disability to volunteer as a support assistant in job preparation training?

Dito runs a job preparation course EmployAbility over a 6 week period
Do you have an idea on
Preparing?

• Cvs?
• Application forms?
• Job search via pc?
• Enjoy Working with people?

Then I am looking for you to join me in my training lessons

Clients with various disabilities who want to get into some form of employment
You will be required to volunteer one day a week for 6 weeks
Look forward to hearing from you
Stacey Peterson
Project Support
020 7364 6564

Benefits & Transport (claim what’s yours!)

Hi there,

Are you struggling to make ends meet?

Are you having problems with paying your gas & electricity bills?

Do you pay for your prescriptions?

Are you a disabled Person?

If you are working, do you work under 16 hours a week?

Do you pay for your glasses?

Do you pay for dental treatment?

Do you have problems getting about?

Do you travel by bus/tube?

Does someone care for you over 35 hours a week?

These are just a few of the questions that l ask disabled people, when l see them. The problem is, that there are a lot of disabled people out there who are not claiming benefits that they may be entitled to.

Some of these very same people are living below the poverty line. Some are finding that they cannot afford to pay for all of their prescriptions, so are only buying a few of the ones that they can afford. What use is that, when the tablets may need to work in conjunction with another tablet?

In the winter months, there are still disabled people ‘huddling’ in one room, as they cannot afford to heat all of the rooms in the home

Did you know that there are over 2. 5 Million, elderly people who are not claiming benefits that they maybe entitled to?

Elderly people are more likely to say “I don’t want any charity”Claiming what you could be entitled to is not charity

Or they are scared of the many pages on the forms and the confusing questions.

The majority of disabled people who do not claim, do not realize that they maybe entitled to extra money to help them cope with their disability, whether it be to help them get out and about to getting a car from ‘Motorbility’ to helping them to buy any ‘Aids’ that they may need to help them to live a more independent life

This is where DITO comes in. We are here to support disabled people and the needs of disabled people (if we cannot help you, we will be able to point you in the right direction)

If you feel that you need support as a disabled person, please give DITO a call on – 0207 364 6592 (ask for Barbara or Stacey) or main line – 0207 364 6564.