Campaigns for scope.

onebigvoice

Hi all, 
  I don't know if anyone is aware but Miriam in Scope is or has been for some time for access to play areas which are Disabled Friendly.   We, and when I say we, I was lucky enough to come across the Scope site many years ago when refurbishing a park in Cathays in Cardiff where I used to live which was looking a bit worse for wear.

  In getting the council to look at sprucing it up and clearing the area of weeds and stop an element of people wrecking the facilities we installed CCTV which looked over the play ground and the Tennis Courts as well.

  I would not say it was all me as this was with the help of a councillor for parks who also realised that parks were being refurbished but the elements of play which would stimulate play for the disabled was lacking.  I am glad to say since then (many years ago) other play areas have also been given extra play things that its now a pleasure to see disabled as well as "normal" children playing and enjoying the park as it was meant to be used.

  Where we are now.: Scope are asking for people to look at the play areas around you asnd see if they have been made into play friendly for the disabled people in your area and to contact your local MP to highlight that .

   My MP and the councillors that live by me are already on the ball and a recent communication from one is shown below.
  I have tried to send this to Scope and Miriam but for some reason it won't send so for now I have posted it here.

"Hi Miriam,

  I have had a councilor who I contacted about parks and access for disabled children and she has asked me to pass this on.

  

"[Name removed] (Cllr) <email address removed]>

To: [NAME]

Thu, 20 Jul at 19:57

Hi Dave,

Thank you for keeping me updated on the excellent work that you are doing to highlight the need for accessible playgrounds.

It might be a good idea for Scope to contact the Cabinet Member at the council who has responsibility for Parks, [Removed]- 

[email address removed]

Best wishes,

[Name removed]"

  I will contact [name removed] tomorrow to see if she has already received your E Mail as she is doing the same thing.

  Speak tomorrow,

David [last name removed]."
  

  I am sorry if some of my posts recently have been strong but also yesterday, I was given some bad news, where my Brother had passed two days ago, and yes another statistic of the waiting game for do I get Benefits help or not at the hands iof the government.  This being the third to me since June 18th this year.

  I do not wish to detract from this post by talking about those problems but to say the ood work that scope do which most do not see unless some thing happens to you and affects you or your loved ones.

  I have because its my birthday 22 July started a donation Charity were anything from £1 can be donated to Septus another charity I support, and have even had a donation of AU $35 from the son of my friend I had since school in Australia who died in June.
  Life goes on and it should make others realise that it could all be over in the blink of an eye,   Try to be remembers for the last thing you did as good not some stupid arguement that you won't remember, unless you want it to.
 

Adrian_Scope

Good morning @onebigvoice. Firstly I just want to say how sorry I am for your recent loss of your brother and to wish you a happy birthday for today. I imagine it's a bit of a mix of emotions for you right now? My thoughts are with you and your family. Losing three people close to you in such a short space of time must be very difficult, I hope you've got lots of support around you and are able to take time to grieve in your own way. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help. 

Secondly, thank you for your post to raise awareness to Scope's Let's Play Fair campaign. It's great to hear that you've reached out to your local councillor and your MP and local councillors are supportive. 

@Tori_Scope has started a couple of great conversations on the topic you could get involved with too:

Have you faced accessibility problems with your local playground? 

and

Do you think disabled children should get to play in their local playground?

As an aside, I've had to remove a couple of the full names and email addresses from your post just because we don't allow them on the community.

onebigvoice

Just to say thank you on both parts of your post and also the post about scope and the disabled access to play.  I have been doing this for some time with scope and have had great success with many of the people in Cardiff and surrounding areas not only by starting up Neighbourhood watch schemes, but access to play areas that were due for a spruce up and asked about disabled access and play to find that Cardiff council have embraced both not only in having areas with crime go down but had realised that disabled access was limited and had only refurbished these areas with what was already there.
  I love being involved and seeing the mums in the areas where the park was closed for a few weeks but when reopened ALL the sounds of the kids enjoying the area makes it all worth while.
  As I said I can't take all th credit because its a community thing with the councilors in each area being involved and yes it may be a feather in their cap to have been a reason to be revoted in but it now does not stop there and they have actually been involved with the community more and are actually seen not just at voting time.
  SORRY, you started me off and you can see how passionate I am as this also reflects in noit only my own home life but when kids disabled or not see adults getting together to weed or paint a play area they join in and like to protect what they have.
Win Win.   

Tori_Scope

I wanted to start by saying I'm also terribly sorry to hear about the recent death of your brother, @onebigvoice. I hope that you're coping as well as can be expected. Take each day as it comes, and speak to loved ones about it if you can. 

Thank you for your posts about Let's Play Fair! It's fantastic to hear that this is something you feel passionately about. It's also great to hear that you've had some success with your local council in the past- that's a huge achievement!

I'm not sure why your email isn't sending- have you tried sending it to [email protected]? That's our main team inbox, so I can keep an eye out for it  

If you're having trouble emailing that email address, then please feel free to copy and paste your message into a private message to me.  

Scope are asking for people to look at the play areas around you asnd see if they have been made into play friendly for the disabled people in your area

Thank you for raising awareness of our Play Investigation! I'll be posting about this on the community soon, but it's brilliant to hear you're already aware of it. Have you taken part in it? We're keen to hear about both accessible and inaccessible playgrounds across the country. 

onebigvoice

JUST AN UP DATE:
  Firstly thank you for your condolences and as I said things are still a bit up in the air, but still going forward.  this from and e mail today:  

Thu, 27 Jul at 15:00

It's fun and easy to take part in. View this email in your browser Hi David, 🙏 Thank you Scope campaigners have contacted 278 councils across England and Wales calling on them to prioritise playgrounds. Thank you for making sure your local council is one of them. 🕵️‍♀️ The Play Investigation Last week, we launched The Play Investigation. It’s a fun and easy way to find out how accessible your local playground is. All you need to do is 👇 🌳 Visit your local playground. 📱 Answer a few questions about the playground on your phone or tablet. ♿ Find out how accessible it is for disabled children. Anyone can take part all over the country and if you have or know some one who is disabled, and this also includes adults as well, who have access to a play ground or park and would like to do the survey its easy and it also allows your MP to become involved, and let disabled kids have a bit of respite from an otherwise routine life where every thing is regimental.. Letting their hair down with other kids and the laughter when kids are really enjoying them selves is a medicine in its self.   when I want a break I just walk up the road to our park and just sit on the bench, which by the way has now turned into a daily routine when in school with some scooters and a bike and a bat and ball with sometimes I take odd things like KITE or a Boomerang.  YES Boomerang and end up with kids coming over and wanting a go.  My favourite question that gets them every time... What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back???????? A STICK.  It takes a couple of seconds to go round but they love it.  Any way look at you park near you see if you think it could do with disabled toys or play things to set there minds on fire...   another simple one is a pipe burried in the ground at one end and some one over the other side singing a tune.  Guess the tune.  see which side wins....   have a look post here.