Disabled people’s organisations, advocates and charities

@MikScarlet We won with equality law but it was a smoke screen for a darker agenda. Scary but true. Divide and conquer.

@mar_nyi Equality legislation was Teflon, especially on health and social care. More often than not, the powers that be walked through complaints. The third sector, in my opinion, has lagged behind since major equality legislation has come in. Almost as if the battle had been won as you say. The duty to consult and the creation of partnership boards allowed councils to steal a march on charities and local groups, and this was enabled by commissioners, turning away from charities and approaching private companies. But third sector has also allowed this to happen.  Charity leaders need to be more entrepreneurial in order to move away from a reliance on service funding.

@RGPLizCrow We need others to join us, advocates working alongside us,  but they need to look to us to learn what we need from them. If something has to change it has to come from disabled people.

@edwinmandella Charities claiming to represent us fail to speak up. We need organisations by disabled people for disabled people.

@Mylegalforum How do we seem to get mainstream charities more on side? Where are they all?

@Mik Scarlet Charities benefit from disempowerment of disabled people. No way will they fight to change public perception.

@Mylegalforum What makes you say that Mik? I’m interested in why you think that way?

@MikScarlet Charity needs disabled people to be seen as needy to bring in donations. Empowered people don’t bring in cash.

@JeffCeSoir1 I think there have been a lot of supportive charities coming out in opposition to government cuts now.

@RGPLizCrow Participant has mentioned that DRUK was instrumental in closing down Remploy during a recession, and now they want to start setting up residential training.

@RGPLizCrow Charities have repeatedly sold us down the river over the past three decades. They have aligned with us before, then turned to work with oppositional government when it was in their own interests. There is an abiding mistrust from that history that has to be addressed by charities before there is any possibility of trusted alliances.