This October, the House of Lords provided the venue for charity SeeAbility’s celebration of its 225th-year anniversary, with people it supports, colleagues, volunteers, funders and partners. They were joined by parliamentarians, including the Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, who sponsored the event and Ministers responsible for social care, health and disability.
Formed in 1799 as a school for the blind in London, the event looked back to SeeAbility’s long heritage but also to its pioneering spirit. Now supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, as well as sight loss, the charity’s reach has expanded greatly to supporting 22,000 people in the last year alone. Looking ahead, it is striving for society to be more inclusive of people with disabilities. The event was a rallying call for change and seeking new partnerships in delivering those aspirations.
It is well known for its specialist social care support services across southern England, and people the charity supports made the journey to parliament with their support teams, while the full breadth of its fundraised programmes were showcased at the event (pictured outside parliament).
Figure 1: Group outside of parliament.
Attendees heard from Tim Parker (pictured below), who is supported by the charity in Oxfordshire but is also a participant in its supported employment programme Ready, Willing and Able, which enabled him to gain his first paid job. Tim said: “With my own determination and SeeAbility’s support and encouragement, I have found a job. Speaking to customers day to day I have really grown in confidence, so much so that I jumped at the chance to use these skills and speak in parliament! It was such a great experience.”
Figure 1: Rebecca (left) and Tim (right) on terrace.
In response to Tim’s experience, Minister of State Sir Stephen Timms MP reflected on his role as a champion for disabled people across government and the partnerships needed to help employers see the potential in people with disabilities, stating: “SeeAbility is making a huge impact, helping people overcome seemingly insuperable hurdles and opening doors that used to be firmly shut.”
Meanwhile Rebecca Lunness, one of SeeAbility’s eyecare champions, spoke of the work she is doing to help break down the barriers to eyecare for people with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to have a sight problem than other people, but much less likely to access eyecare.
One of the charity’s most recent successes has been its decade-long campaign for the NHS to introduce sight testing and glasses dispensing into every special school, which the NHS has pledged to roll out in the near future to nearly 165,000 children.
At the event Minister of State Stephen Kinnock MP spoke of how delighted he was to approve the most recent move forward for the new service, and how proud the charity should be of what it had begun in 2013. He paid tribute to Rebecca’s “superb speech” and committed to visit the work in special schools.
Finally, the theme of looking to the future and challenging society’s expectations of people with disabilities was also bought to life with a new film shown at the event.
Lord Blunkett said: “I was extremely pleased to be able to support SeeAbility in its anniversary year. I’m fully behind its ambition to make society more inclusive for disabled people through its pioneering programmes of work.
“There are not many charities that have such a long and rich history, and one of its founders was the MP William Wilberforce himself. So it was apt the event played host to many new parliamentarians learning about SeeAbility’s work, including two Ministerial colleagues reflecting on what government can do to help drive change, so people with disabilities get the opportunities they deserve.”
Lisa Hopkins, SeeAbility CEO said: “I am proud to be leading a charity which has had such a pioneering spirit at its heart for 225 years. The historic setting provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate our past, present and future and to thank so many people who have contributed to our work. We’re extremely grateful to Lord Blunkett for making this opportunity happen.
“We want to see change – so that people with disabilities can live, love, thrive and belong – and we know from our work, partnerships and campaigns that change for the better is possible.”
