An Interview with York Disability Rights Forum

By Emily Wyatt – Thu, 10 November 2022

Disabled people's organisations and local disability groups are crucial to our work at AccessAble. Working with them helps us ensure that our Access Guides contain all the information that disabled people need to get out and about.

Who are these groups, and what do they do? Our interview series shines a light on their vital work.

This month we speak to York Disability Rights Forum.

Tell us a bit about your organisation.

York Disability Rights Forum is led by disabled people and works to promote equal access to human rights for all those with disabilities who live or work in York.

The Forum is open to people over the age of 18 who live or work in York and identify as disabled or as having a disability. We also welcome allies to work with us.

As a group In general, it’s important to us that we have disabled people who are activists meaning we are accessible and inclusive.

The forums work is underpinned by the Social Model of Disability ahnd we uphold a human rights-based approach.

We provides a space for disabled people and their allies to come together, both face-to-face and through other routes and as a collective we decide what issues are a priority locally and what actions can be taken collectively. To ensure we act on the communities priorities.

We hold an Annual Survey in September. The findings of our survey and our annual report are available on our website.

The Forum is committed to working in collaboration with other local disability-focused groups, as well as embracing an intersectional approach and working in partnership with groups concerned with anti-racism, stamping out hate crime, celebrating LGBT+ pride, advocating for older people, and meeting the needs of people aging without children.

What is your Mission?

We to be a collective voice, to raise awareness of issues affecting disabled people in York and create positive changes.

Tell us about some of your successes

YDRF started in Spring 2020 and since then has worked to raise the profile of disabled people in and around York. The forum has become a place where disabled people can seek out information, gain support and link up with other disabled people in the city. It has also been increasingly approached by a range of groups, businesses and services wanting to find out more about what we do and how we can help make their offer more disability-friendly.

How many members do you have?

York Disability Rights Forum currently has 216 members

What are some of your group's successes?

During the pandemic, our commitment to supporting Carers across Surrey continued, we realised the carers who used our service needed us more than ever.

How important would you say Detailed Access Information is when planning a trip or visiting a venue for the first time?

Disabled people have to do an incredible amount of admin and research before setting out into a new area. When clear access information is available, it lightens the weight of this extra work and makes it much easier to plan a trip.

How do AccessAble’s Access Guides help the disabled community in your area?

Where they’re available, the AccessAble Guides are really helpful in understanding the parking, entrances and internal structures of buildings. This helps with planning visits, easing anxiety in attending new spaces and understanding available facilities without having to contact the space in advance.

In your view, what’s the best thing about an AccessAble Guide - How do they help the Disabled Community in your area?

The access guides are helpful to a range of people with a variety of disabilities and give a wide range of information which is helpful to other groups like parents with buggies.