Lewes Access Group receives community award from 3VA

On Wednesday 20th September Jean Lawrence, the chair of our group, accepted this award on behalf of all our members.

We meet at The Depot on Mondays or Tuesdays every couple of months. Our members have lived experience of a number of disabilities and are parents and carers of disabled people.

In the past year we have campaigned successfully for positive changes in our community. Thanks to the efforts of our members, we have a new bench outside the railway station, a Changing Places toilet in Friar’s Walk car park, improvements have been made to the new bus stops in School Hill, and the toilets in The Grange are open all year round. We continue to campaign for benches to be installed around the town, for dropped kerbs, and for key fob entrance to the Changing Places toilet to be made more straightforward and to be available to visitors to the town.

Being disabled and chronically ill can result in physical and psychological isolation. As co vice chair of the Access Group, I find that I get as much benefit from the solidarity between our members as I get satisfaction from the outcomes of our various campaigns.

We now - at long last - live in a society which embraces full inclusivity for all minority groups. It feels great to play our part in this cultural opening up and recognition.

Our next meeting is at The Depot on Tuesday 7th November. We gather from 10am and begin the meeting at 10.30am. We would love to welcome new members!

Caroline Wright