The LAPWD Ladies walking in spirit with Charlie Bird in support of two charities MND Ireland and Pieta House. We have donated at https://www.climbwithcharlie.ie/donate/ And adding his support is LAPWDs honorary president Andy Mc Govern diagnosed in 1978 with MND at the age of 45 .Andy is truly an inspiration to those who suffer from this cruel disease and is currently the longest survivor of MND in the world. Thank you Andy for your support and your ongoing advocacy of MND
Consultation open on Review of Building Regulations – closing date 12th May.
We have a great chance now to get more Changing Places across the country. A
public consultation on the Review of Building Regulations to get more Changing
Places- toilet facilities in certain buildings is now open until 12th
May. This is great news for thousands of children and adults with disabilities
who are restricted in where they can go and what they can do because they will
not find a toilet with the equipment they need. We would encourage as
many people as possible to take part in the consultation and highlight how
important and necessary these facilities are. To show your support, send an
email to buildingstandards@housing.gov.ie
to tell the Department there needs to be more "Changing Places" in
the country. It is easy to make a submission - check out www.changingplaces.ie for
a sample e mail.
We would encourage as many people
as possible to take part in the consultation and highlight how important and
necessary these facilities are. To show your support, send an
email to buildingstandards@housing.gov.ie to tell the Department there needs to
be more Changing Places in the country. It is easy to make a
submission and we have a sample email below which you can use as a template for
your own submission.
Sample email to send
to buildingstandards@housing.gov.ie
“I wish to register my support for Changing Places toilet facilities
standards to be included in Part M building regulations.
Including Changing Places toilet facilities standards in Part M building
regulations is essential because:
Changing Places toilet
facilities have minimum standards for room dimensions and specialised
equipment which are required in order for the many people who need such
facilities to have safe and hygienic access to toilet facilities in our
towns and communities.
People who need a Changing
Places toilet are currently excluded from places and buildings because
public toilets; and standard accessible public toilets; do not meet their
toileting requirements. Part M regulations would ensure Changing Places
are available.
The Changing Places Ireland
campaign has led to less than 20 registered changing places facilities
across the State in 7 years. Because there is a reliance on goodwill
rather than legislated inclusive design people continue to be excluded
from their towns and communities and from many opportunities most take for
granted such as access to work, recreation, retail, leisure, sporting,
education, economic and transport outlets. Part M regulations would ensure
inclusion is by design rather than by favours.
There needs to be a
reasonable network of such facilities to provide inclusive access to the
built environment and infrastructure across Ireland, and to ensure basic
respect and dignity for everyone living in, working in, or visiting our
towns and communities. Part M regulations would ensure there is a network
of such facilities.”
Leitrim Volunteer Center Community Car Scheme what an amazing initiative and service to have available in Leitrim . Well done to all involved Contact Leitrim Volunteer Center to avail of the service or to volunteer to help the community. http://volunteerleitrim.ie/
Make Way Day is a National Public Awareness Campaign that highlights the issues people with disabilities face getting around their local communities. "Hey, this blocks my way!" is the message.
The theme for this year’s campaign is
“Make Way in My 5k”
We once again take aim at obstacles like cars on the footpath, while taking measures to keep a safe distance. However, with the ongoing COVID pandemic we need to adapt the Make Way Day campaign for this year. You will be invited to undertake a survey of your area with an online easy-to-use tool designed by the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) DFI. People will be empowered to give their 5K or area a rating from one to five stars depending on the obstacles they come across.
There will be a link to the tool on all Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) social media platforms and website on Friday 24thn September. LAPWD will also share the link.
DFI will coordinate all the results and share them with the right people and work together to help solve the problems.
Thank you for your ongoing support for Make Way Day, which is vital to the success of the campaign. Make Way Day is a real team undertaking that has a positive impact in achieving local and national recognition of accessibility in our towns and communities.