New disability champions will help companies in Wales

A search has been launched in Wales to recruit a team of young disability champions to improve access at tourism and hospitality venues.

Leading the campaign is a community interest company called PIWS (which means purple) which is looking for disabled people to become Access Ambassadors to check out facilities and suggest ways they can be made more accessible and inclusive.

At stake is a share of a £274 billion purple pound bonanza – the combined spending power of households in the UK with at least one disabled person.

According to PIWS, there are 670,000 people registered as disabled in Wales – that’s over 20 per cent of the population – and the vast majority of events, attractions and hospitality companies are missing out on a potentially lucrative business opportunity.

PIWS founder Davina Carey-Evans, who has two sons with complex disabilities and whose husband was severely disabled in a fall, is spearheading the drive.

As part of the scheme, young people aged between 16 and 24 will be paid a wage to review venues across Wales.

The aim is to provide feedback on their experiences so attractions and other venues can be supported to understand the challenges of families – including those with hidden disabilities – so they can make reasonable adjustments to accommodate them.

Davina said: “We hear a lot about the power of the LGBTQ+ community’s pink pound but the purple pound is also very valuable and in accessible tourism across UK it is estimated to have a potential worth of £15.5 billion a year.

“Gearing up your business to be user-friendly for the disabled isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes commercial sense too and it needn’t cost the earth either.

“It’s not just about wheelchair access – people in wheelchairs make up just nine per cent of UK’s registered disabled and a lot can be done that is straightforward and very inexpensive.

“There is a need for quiet safe spaces because sometimes the excitement of visiting somewhere new can be overwhelming for some impairments and an empty corner with seating can be ideal for them to chill out if they’re becoming over stimulated or anxious.

“In my case, for example, the ambassadors could be one of my sons or me or both of us or it can be a carer – it has to be someone who knows about coping with all access challenges.

“We also offer an hour-long Introduction to Accessibility Awareness  Workshop which all staff at an attraction should take and businesses should also appoint their own Accessibility Champion for which we provide a series of four day-long courses.

“Anyone living with a disability should get involved with reporting back on their experiences, the more we work together, the quicker we will see change.

“We’re encouraging and prepared to pay young adults between the ages of 16 and 24, because we want to give them the confidence that they can leave their homes with a purpose, with an end goal of hopefully encouraging the tourism sector to employ them on their accessibility journey.

“All providers could employ a person with a disability to support them at their receptions for example  for a couple of hours each day, which is a way of breaking down the barriers of communication and understanding.  Many young disabled adults are very lonely, isolated and unemployed.

Helping to recruit the new ambassadors and playing an ambassadorial role herself is Manon Wyn Jones, from Carmel, near Caernarfon, whose two-and-a-half year old daughter, Nansi, was born with spina bifida.

Manon had to quit her job as an Early Play and Development worker for Gwynedd’s Flying Start programme for disadvantaged children aged under four to look after Nansi and now with the help of her mum and sister, is working for PIWS in marketing and support.

That includes recruiting disability ambassadors from across Wales and Manon is fully aware of the pitfalls of taking a child with disability out for the day.

She said: “We have to plan everywhere we go and everything we do. Nansi is unable to walk or stand unaided and her catheter bag has to be emptied every two and a half hours.

“We have been to places without proper changing rooms which has meant having to do catheter changes in the boot of the car.

“My mother and sister bought her a small wheelchair which she is now outgrowing and we know she will be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life so I realise just how important the work being done by PIWS is.

“Organising a family day out can be quite stressful, websites are not always clear and you really have to do your home work before setting out so the work that PIWS is doing will make such a difference – before that it wasn’t that simple.”