1. Let in the Light

Our popular columnist Philip Anderson has written another moving and thought-provoking piece for Independent Living.

In it, he ponders on brokenness, and the various ways we deal with it. One way or another, each one of us is imperfect or broken: how do we cope with this? Do we accept, or even celebrate it?

Read "Let in the Light" here

2. DFG and dementia

Disabled Facilities Grants are used to adapt homes to make them safe and accessible for disabled residents. They are seldom used specifically to support people living with dementia. Yet given that people with dementia very often have other conditions as well, it is likely that grant-funded adaptations are being carried out without consideration of dementia-related needs.

Foundations, the umbrella body for home improvement agencies, wants to ensure that dementia has its rightful position front and centre when it comes to housing.

Read more here

3. Care For Others

I recently highlighted Brexit-related recruitment problems experienced by some disabled people looking for PAs and care assistants.

The social care sector as a whole is urgently in need of a workforce boost, and the government has launched a campaign to encourage people to consider a career in care.

The ‘Care for Others. Make a Difference.’ campaign is using television, digital and radio advertising to highlight the rewarding, varied and flexible roles available across the care sector.

Read about the new campaign here

4. Lockdown learning

A number of social divides have been thrown into sharp relief by the pandemic. One is that between people who can find their way around the virtual world and those who can't.

At a time when everything from supermarket shopping to GP appointments, council services and meetings of every description has gone online, if you aren't able to keep up, you are effectively excluded from life as we know it.

An interesting webinar from Cybermoor is coming up on the 25th, looking at lockdown learning for older people.

Find out more here

5. Self-funders in Scotland

Adults who pay for their residential care in Scotland will be better off from April as a result of a change to the rates of allowances they receive for personal and nursing care.

The allowance for personal and nursing care costs will be going up by 7.5 per cent, well above the normal annual increase, in recognition of the increasing cost of providing care, particularly for people with dementia.

More details here

6. Latest - Free PPE for carers

Following a successful pilot scheme, free PPE (personal protective equipment) is now being made available to ‘extra-resident’ unpaid carers, i.e. those who don't live with the person they care for, so they can keep themselves and their loved ones safe from COVID-19.

As one of our Facebook group members observed, only a year late...

You can read more here