Our social policy work on the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on Deaf and Disabled people in Merton

Coronavirus, Lockdown, Shielding and Beyond

Merton CIL has published a new report about Deaf and Disabled people’s experiences of the Covid 19 pandemic and lockdowns in the borough. The report details the impact the situation had on Deaf and Disabled people in Merton from early in 2020 through to mid-2021 when restrictions started to ease.

You can read more here - https://bit.ly/3zT2RAD

Coronavirus Bill and Disabled people

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. We wrote to our two local MPs Siobhain McDonagh and Stephen Hammond to raise Merton CIL's concerns about the Coronavirus Bill and how it may impact on Disabled people and actually create further demands on the NHS by removing social care support.

You can read the letters here: 

1. Siobhain McDonagh - Coronavirus Bill Letter

2. Stephen Hammond - Coronavirus Bill Letter

 

We also pulled together a fact sheet that informs what this means for Disabled people and what the main changes are. You can read here - Coronavirus Act & What it Means for Disabled people Factsheet

 

Independent Living & Face Coverings

We wrote an open letter to stores in Merton about how they can remain accessible and inclusive for Deaf and Disabled people whilst enforcing mandatory face coverings. You can read more and our open letter here - https://www.mertoncil.org.uk/news/an-open-letter-to-stores-in-me/

 

The rise in Disability Hate Crime 

We are currently revisiting disability hate crime in Merton and will be sharing our work soon. 

 

We created a factsheet that gives details of the help available to anyone who is either dealing with a disability hate crime or is a survivor of a disability hate crime in the past but still needs support with any issues that have come out of the experience. You can read the factsheet here - Disability Hate Crime Factsheet

 

Health and wellbeing 

We are currently conducting a survey on the wellbeing fo Deaf and Disabled people throughout the pandemic. You can share your feedback here - We will use the data collected to inform our ongoing response to the pandemic. 

We met with Healthwatch Merton and SW London CCG to share Deaf and Disabled peoples views on GPs and health services during the pandemic. You can read more abotu what we fed back here - https://www.mertoncil.org.uk/getting-involved/craftivism-and-chat/craftivism-and-chat-at-home/

Our feedback will also help inform SW London CCG's decision making around health services moving forward.