Merton Centre for Independent Living

As an organisation that is committed to challenging discrimination and inequality, Merton CIL stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and Black, Asian and Minority communities in the UK and worldwide. We are hopeful that we can all come together and achieve real change. Our organisation will listen, learn and understand. We will address the needs of Disabled people who have lived experience of exclusion and discrimination because they are Black and Disabled – which is referred to as intersectional discrimination. We will support people to speak up about issues that matter most to them and help make change happen.

We are seeking to recruit a highly motivated Deaf or Disabled person to join our busy advice & advocacy team as a caseworker, specialising in welfare benefits and low income. 

We are seeking to recruit two highly motivated Deaf or Disabled people to the following posts in our busy Advice & Advocacy Team: Caseworker (Welfare Benefits and Low Income) and Trainee Caseworker (Community Care and Personal Independence Payment) Closing date for applications: 11pm Tuesday 30 June 2020

We are writing to inform you that our Chief Executive Officer, Tom Lichy, left the organisation with effect from 1 May 2020. We hope you will join us in wishing Tom well for the future and we thank him for his service to the organisation.

In light of Tom’s departure, we have reviewed our management structure and are excited to announce a new co-managed structure, drawing on the strengths of our highly experienced senior management team to take the organisation forward in the next phase of our planned growth and development.

Merton CIL is seeking 2 new trustees, one with experience in Finance to take on the role of treasurer, to join our board of 8 members the majority of whom are disabled.

Following government advice around coronavirus, we have had to make some temporary changes to how we operate. However, we are still open and supporting local Deaf and Disabled people. Our team will be working remotely until further notice. Our telephone line is monitored daily and you can also email and visit our website or social media platforms for general information and advice. We are operating a reduced service but our advice and advocacy service is open to new benefits, community care and hate crime cases. Please get in touch to arrange an appointment. We have temporarily changed the way that we conduct appointments. We will provide advice over the telephone, via email, in a letter or via video calling platform such as Zoom or Skype. We will not provide any face to face advice in order to protect our service users and staff. We are doing all that we can to ensure that we adapt and continue to provide a supportive and accessible service for Deaf and Disabled people in Merton. Unfortunately, our Craftivism and Chat groups have been cancelled until further notice. We will keep you updated on when we expect that it will return. My Voice Matters 2020 was scheduled to take place on 25th June 2020. Unfortunately, this event will be postponed until late October 2020

Our CIL Matters newsletter is out! If you are a member or supporter our newsletter should be in your inbox. This edition of CIL Matters includes: Service and Craftivism and Chat updates, Information on The Coronavirus Act & what it means for Disabled people, coronavirus support information, why we support a National Independent Living service, views from our members/supporters and lots more! 

Merton CIL believes that the Coronavirus Bill presents a threat to the health and wellbeing of Disabled people at this difficult time, and in the most serious circumstances could threaten people's lives.

If you or a loved one is Disabled, you may be wondering what coronavirus means for you/them. There are increasing cases of coronavirus in the UK. Some Disabled people may be at higher risk of coronavirus. We have some tips to avoid catching or spreading germs 

At our Craftivism and Chat group that was held on 6th March 2020, Disabled people responded to the Improving Healthcare Together 2020 - 2030 consultation. In September 2019, NHS Surrey Downs, Sutton and Merton CCGs were allocated £500 million to improve the current buildings at Epsom and St Helier hospitals as well as build a new specialist emergency care hospital on one of the three sites – Epsom, St Helier or Sutton. Their preferred option is Sutton Hospital. We asked our members to respond to the consultation on the proposed changes to our local NHS services, so that Disabled voices are heard.

Merton CIL hopes to raise over £1,000 to continue their Craftivism and Chat project that aims to reduce isolation and loneliness in local Deaf and Disabled people over the next two years.

We will close for Christmas on Tuesday 24th Dec 2019 at 3pm. We will reopen on Thursday 2nd Jan 2020 from 9am.

We want all Deaf and Disabled People to have their say and sign up to vote. We have written a short guide on how to register to vote and the voting process.

In celebration of Purple Tuesday (12th Nov 2019), an international call-to-action, focused on changing the customer experience for Disabled people, Centre Court Wimbledon and Merton CIL are asking retailers based in the Centre Court shopping centre to get involved in an ‘independence contest’, so that the benefits of Purple Tuesday can be felt all year long.

Welcome to the August edition of CIL Matters. This CIL Matters newsletter follows on from what we discussed at this years My Voice Matters event. We want you to have your say and help us to develop our Independent Living Toolkit. We also have lots of Merton CIL news to update you on. We have a new CEO Tom Lichy. 

This is a great opportunity to join our dynamic user-led Deaf and Disabled people's organisation in Merton and to support our continued growth, strategic direction and governance on the trustee board.