Supporting disability inclusive societies in London

December 3rd is the International Day of Disabled People (IDDP) - an opportunity for governments, organisations, and communities to come together to raise awareness, promote inclusion, and take action to improve the lives of disabled people. Challenges faced and barriers to social progress include discrimination and restriction in employment, uneven and inadequate coverage for care and support systems and a greater likelihood of experiencing poverty. The inclusion of disabled people as both agents and beneficiaries of social development is vital, reflected in the theme for IDDP 25 - “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress”.

According to the 2021 Census, across London, 13.2% of people are Disabled (using the definition under the Equality Act 2010). At a borough level, this ranges from 16.2% of the population in Islington to 10.7% in the City of London and 11.4% in Wandsworth. The three boroughs with the highest proportion of people who are Disabled are Islington, Camden (15.2%) and Havering (14.7%).

At The London Community Foundation, we support organisations that strive to make a real difference to Deaf and Disabled Londoners’ lives and to build a more just, inclusive, equitable and sustainable city for everyone. so, we wanted to ask what International Day of Disabled People (IDDP) means to them.

Merton Centre for Independent Living (MCIL) is a DDPO currently being supported by the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund. Their grant is enabling disabled individuals to develop and build employment skills and decide on the issues they will collaborate on with local decision makers, before then co-producing improvements to 'make Merton more accessible'.

MCIL’s CEO, Charlet Wilson, believes that

“Celebrating International Day of Disabled People raises awareness of the systemic barriers and discrimination faced by our community. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the work of Deaf and Disabled people's organisations (like those funded by Adobe), who push for a more inclusive and equitable society. #IDDP highlights how inseparable disability justice is from other forms of discrimination and reminds us that marginalised groups are connected by our struggles and that there is strength in solidarity. I hope #IDDP inspires people to come together and make change happen.”

Through the Adobe UK Community Fund, 12 Deaf and Disabled community organisation in London shared £432,000 which is providing access to creative and digital projects until next summer.

Club Soda’s grant is funding the development of the ‘Leisure Link’ project which provides extensive information about leisure, arts and sport related opportunities in Croydon for people with a learning disability, supporting both digital and creative inclusion.

“International Day of Disabled Persons celebrates the creativity, talent and leadership of disabled people - something we see in action every day at Club Soda. It’s a powerful reminder that visibility matters, and that disabled voices must be heard, valued and championed not just today, but all year round.” Olly Tipper, Club Soda’s Director

North of the river, Disability Action Haringey’s (DAH) grant is funding an inclusive Creative Social Activities Programme which has been co-designed by and is open to over 300 disabled and primarily older, non-disabled Haringey residents. With their partner organisation, Haringey Circle, DAH has been delivering a wide range of activities from line dancing to cooking, and gardening to t-shirt painting.

DAH’s CEO, Phil Stevens said

“On International Day of Disabled People, we stand visible, confident and unapologetically proud, uplifting the achievements, talent and power within our community. For DAH, this day is about challenging narratives, reminding the world that D/deaf & disabled people are defined not by limitation, but by leadership, solidarity and strength. We celebrate to honour our resilience, raise our collective voice and champion a future built on equality, rights and inclusion, not sympathy or charity.”

*A DDPO is a user-led organisation where over 50% of staff and 75% of trustees are Deaf or Disabled people.