Gibraltar Disability Society held its annual Bingo at the Admiral Casino on Tuesday 27th January. The Committee would like to thank all those who attended and the staff at the Casino for a very successful evening. A wonderful £2,400 was raised for the charity. We would also like to thank all those who donated raffle prizes which helped contribute to this fantastic total: Cake Creations, Admiral Casino, Cutting Edge, Eddie Stores, Gatsby’s, Gibraltar Crystal, Kaycee, Med Computers, My Wines, Revlon, Seruya, Silver Shop, Trafalgar Pharmacy, Valmar Pharmacy and those who donated anonymously.
Wednesday 3rd December will be International Day of People with Disabilities, a United Nations sanctioned day that aims to promote an understanding of people with disabilities and encourage support for their dignity, rights and well-being. This year many good causes have had their days celebrated in different ways including the lighting of the Moorish Castle in various colours. The Gibraltar Disability Society calls upon the Government to mark this day in 2014 by introducing the legislation based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was promised within the first year of Government.
The Disability Society calls upon the Government to reverse its decision not to renew the 11 month contracts of carers in the disability services. The Society will go further and ask Government to make those who have been on these rolling contracts for several years to be have their contracts made permanent. This is an exceedingly worrying situation not only for the Society but also the families of the service users. The Society has always voiced the view that continuity of care, and this importantly includes staff, is key to the care of its members and their safety and wellbeing. We also understand that experts brought in by the Government also advise continuity of care which includes staff members. Service users, particularly those who are non verbal or have trouble expressing themselves clearly, require staff who have come to understand, over long periods of time, their needs. Working with disabled people, particularly those with learning disabilities, is a vocation and not just a job. The decision to make such a huge change in staff, particularly non renewal of contracts of those who have been there for a number of years, without consultation from those involved be it service users, family members or the Disability Society is not acceptable. The Dr Giraldi Home and St Bernadettes Resource Centre are at the core of the services for the disabled. These services are for those who are truly the most vulnerable people in our society yet all management are still only acting in their positions. This begs the question of why Government, who have had at least two years, have not made any of these positions permanent. The Society does not only care about the service users but also the staff of these services. Without many of these good staff members there will be no “good” service. At present the Society detects a sense of concern amongst those who work in the services. If contracts are not permanent, despite many years of proving oneself to be a good carer, positions remain acting over a long period of time, the concern and unease that the staff begin to feel will be manifested onto the service users.
The Society therefore calls upon the Government to refrain from ultimately dismissing carers by refusing to renew their contracts as many of those carers affected are held in high esteem by not only the service users themselves but by their families.
Dear Parents,
After much consideration and discussion the committee has unfortunately made the decision to cancel its annual children’s Christmas party. Due to the growing number of disabled children and their siblings the party has become too large, not only financially, but in the amount of time needed to cater present wise for each individual child.
The committee has therefore decided to hold a party, possibly in January 2015 (this will be confirmed at a later date), which will consist of party food and drink and entertainment for all the children rather than individual presents.
The Committee hopes that you understand why we have had to make this decision. We will let you know as soon as possible details of the new party and look forward to seeing you all.
Best regards
The Committee
The Gibraltar Disability Society
The Chairman of the Dr Giraldi Home Inquiry, Sir Jonathan Parker, has now completed a draft of his final report following last year’s month long hearing. Sir Jonathan has been drafting his report into the issues raised at the Inquiry, including allegations of “mismanagement, misconduct and malpractice, including abuse” at the Dr Giraldi Home, since the conclusion of the final hearing last December. The Chairman explained at the time that anyone who provided evidence to the Inquiry and who was singled out for adverse criticism in the report will be given an opportunity to respond before the document is made public That stage has now been reached, and letters are being sent to relevant persons inviting responses and/or comments by no later than the end of October. The Chairman will consider any such responses or comments before finalising the Report and presenting it to the Government as required by the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.
We have received the following announcement from the Gibraltar Hearing Impaired and Tinitus Association. Well done Leisure Cinemas.
“We have the pleasure to inform all our members that as part of the improvements at Leisure Cinemas, subtitles on movies will be possible thanks to the use of state of the art electronic viewing glasses that will be given to the customer on request (pending availability due to demand) at no extra charge.”
Francesca Martinez, tv personality, comedian, author and disability rights activist performed her wonderful comedy show at the Sunborn Hotel last Friday 11th July. Francesca has cerebral palsy but prefers to describe herself as “wobbly” and is best known for her stand up comedy work and acting. Her show was a mix of comic and thought provoking annecdotes about her life growing up with a disability. Minister for the Opposition Damian Bossino was even persuaded to take part in one sketch on stage which caused much merriment amongst the audience. Ms Martinez followed her show with a question and answer session and a book signing at which she spent time chatting and meeting audience members. The show was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. The Society would like to congratulate the Equality Rights Group for organising such a wonderful event and the Gibraltar Government and the Sunborn Hotel who’s sponsorship allowed this to take place.
The Ministry for Culture informs us that the outdoor area for the disabled at the GASA pool is now open for the summer season. There is still ongoing work being done to the new public facility next door but the shaded area has been finished first to allow pass holders to start enjoying the summer.
Congratulations to Janine Gaduzo, a wonderful OT, who has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queens birthday honours list this year for services to improving the lives of special needs children and their families in Gibraltar. Well deserved.