Next week is the 21st annual Children's Hospice Week, dedicated to supporting children and their families living with life limiting conditions.

Anybody who has lost someone they love knows that life is short, but for the 49,000 children affected, "short" takes on an even more acute meaning.

Together for Short Lives is asking people to share their favourite Moments that Matter and help raise money to support families going through the worst possible experience.

Find out more here.

 

One of the most-read articles on Independent Living is a piece about patient transfers, and whether or not it's always necessary to have two carers involved.

Although many still believe that double-handed care is a requirement, this is by no means always true.

The first Single-Handed Care Summit is a series of free events taking place in May and June around the UK

Find out more here

 

I have just come across a brilliant project, which is spreading around the world. Cycling Without Age was set up in Denmark in 2012, by Ole Kassow.

The aim is to help elderly people with reduced mobility to get on a bike and enjoy that wonderful sensation of being out and about in the fresh air.

Read the full story here

 

You don't have to look far for heartbreaking accounts from relatives of people with dementia, whose condition deteriorates significantly when they go into hospital for any reason.

Despite the fact that a quarter of all hospital beds are occupied by someone with the condition, awareness and understanding is woefully limited.

One good news story – following four years of work by Purple Angel, England now has the first acute major hospital in the world to be dementia aware.

Find out more here.

  

Parallel London is an inclusive mass participation sporting event which has just won not one but two awards.

Taking place in the iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the fun runs include; 10km, 5km, 1km, 100m and a Super Sensory 1km, with no cut-off times. It aims to change perceptions around disability, giving people of all abilities the opportunity to participate, side by side.

Read more here

 

The first Looathon in support of raising awareness of the need for more fully accessible Changing Places toilets took place last Friday.

There was great interest on social media – you can see more images from the day if you search for #PantsDown4Equality, and it caught the attention of the BBC and other broadcast and print news media, too. 

More details here

 

The promised update on the Access to Elected Office Fund, which has been suspended since May 2015. The government has said it needs more time to reach a decision...

 

Don't forget that you can apply to join the Independent Living Facebook group, if you would like to spend more time discussing these themes with other interested people. 

There are various ways you can get in touch with us: email me; visit our Facebook page and leave a message there; or if it's short and sweet, Tweet!

Previous newsletters are archived here.

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Until next time, all good wishes,

Frances