Merton CIL want people to come forward and report hate crime. However, hate crimes against disabled people are almost all under the radar. We are supporting National Hate Crime Awareness Week to help make more people aware of hate crime and hate incidents, and find out how to report it and stop it.

Merton Centre for Independent Living research has shown that over 2500 Disabled People have already been denied PIP or had their benefit reduced, and thousands more are at risk.

Merton CIL's members group met recently to discuss plans to close Wimbledon Police Station. The group were not happy with the proposals and felt that the Mitcham Police Station was not as accessible as Wimbledon for disabled people. The group also raised concerns about some of the proposals to move more services online, as this can also be less accessible to disabled people. Our members also raised concerns about the nature of the consultation, whether it was genuine consultation, and the fact that some of the questions seemed somewhat leading. Have your say here!

Some of our members have been telling us what life is like for disabled people in Merton. You can read more about what people said in our short report