Get Involved
In this section you will find
information about current EDCM campaigns, and how you can get
involved. There is also information about resources that will help
you make a difference in your local area.
Why should you campaign?
Supporters of EDCM write to their elected representatives and
decision makers for rights and resources for disabled children and
their families. The decision makers have been appointed to provide
services or support to local residents. They are judged on their
performance in meeting local people’s needs, therefore it is
crucial they hear from local people. Get involved in campaigning to
ensure that your voice is heard and to ensure that
disabled children and their families receive the rights and
resources that they are entitled to.
Basic Information
Before you take action, it’s helpful to know who to contact.
Here is a brief summary of who’s responsible for what. You can find
out more in Making Disabled Children
Matter Locally 2010.
- Local authority: local short break services,
transition services, local education facilities, transport –
including blue badges, local decisions about housing allocation,
local leisure facilities including parks and playgrounds, whether
you are entitled to DLA, carers allowance etc
- Primary Care Trust: local hospital and doctor
surgeries, equipment such as wheelchairs, community nursing,
palliative care, and short breaks services for children with
complex health needs
- Local Councillor: elected by the local
community, they are your voice in your local authority or
“council”, and can raise your concerns about any local
issues.
- MP: You can contact your MP about anything you
are concerned about as they are your representative in Parliament
but they can also raise concerns on your behalf to the Local
Authority or your PCT.
Get Campaigning in your local area
Short breaks and Eligibility
Criteria
Since 2007, there has been a lot of investment in short breaks. We
now want to find out how local authorities are planning their short
breaks services and if they have eligibility criteria.
Charters
EDCM has produced local authority, Primary Care Trust (PCT), and
Joint Charters that ask local areas to sign up and make a clear
commitment to improve services for disabled children and their
families.
Constituency
Pledge
The Constituency Pledge is a series of
five commitments that EDCM is asking MPs to pledge their support
to.
What’s your
story?
Help people understand more about what life is like for disabled
children, young people, and their families. At the moment we are
particularly interested in finding out whether there have been any
funding cuts or reductions for disabled children’s
services in your local area.
What’s happened in previous campaigns?
EDCM has run many successful campaigns. For example, over 1000
supporters emailed their local MP in July 2010 to invite them to an
EDCM Parliamentary Reception. You can find out a bit more about
this and some of our other campaigns here.
Campaigning Resources
There are a number of resources that have been produced by the
sector that can help you campaign in your local area. For example,
EDCM has recently published Making Disabled Children
Matter Locally 2010 – a guide to influencing local
decision makers for rights and resources for disabled children. You
can find out more about campaigning guides and factsheets
here.
Young Campaigners
If you’re a Young Campaigner you should take a look at our
campaigning section aimed at young people! You can see how other
Young Campaigners have been campaigning and be inspired to get
involved yourself. Find out more
here.
