Stop the difference - Easy Read Version
Monday, 02 March 2009 Last Updated ( Monday, 02 March 2009 )There are lots of disabled people who need to live in institutions. People who live in institutions can not choose when they get up or what time they go to bed. They cannot choose what they eat, or if they go out. People go to live in institutions because other people think it will be the best place for them. But many people do not like living in institutions.
There are lots of disabled people who need to live with their parents or families when they are grown up. Sometimes they would like to live in a place of their own, but they cannot do this because sometimes they need extra help with some things. They cannot pay someone to give them the extra help so their parents or family do this. Lots of disabled people would like to live in a place of their own but cannot pay someone with the extra help they might need.
Some disabled people can make the choice of when to get up, when to go to bed, what they eat and when they go out because they can pay people to help them. They can live in a place of their own.
These disabled people can pay someone to help them with different things because they have been given some money to do this from their governments. The money from their government is called a direct payment. These people can take their direct payments and choose a person they like to work for them. The person they choose is called a personal assistant or a P.A. for short.
Not all disabled people want personal assistants, but for those that do want them it can be a problem to pay for one.
Some countries do not allow disabled people to have direct payments, so they have no money to choose a personal assistant to work for them, they need to stay in institutions, and they cannot live in a place of their own.
Lots of people think this wrong and unfair. Lots of people think that if someone wants to have direct payments and pay a personal assistant they should be able to do that.
There is a report called the United Nations Convention on the rights of people with disabilities. The report says that all people should be able to choose when they get up, when they go to bed, when they go out and where they want to live.
The report says that disabled people should be able to choose someone to work for them, if they want to, so that they can do the things that everyone does. The people who wrote the report think that those countries that do not allow disabled people to have direct payments and choose a personal assistant are wrong and are being unfair.
We think it is unfair too, we think that anyone who wants a personal assistant should have one. We think that everyone who wants direct payments should have them. This is so that they can do the things they want to do and live where they want to live. That way they can have the same choices as other people.
We are asking people to put their email into our form so that we can send a long list of names and emails to those governments that do not allow disabled people to live with the same choices as other people.
We want to tell the governments to stop being unfair and we want to let them know that lots of people think it is wrong to stop people having a choice.
If you write your email on our form you can help us by saying that you think it’s unfair too, and you can help make a long list with us.