June 2016 - Monthly update

 

An easy read version of this update can be downloaded here.

 

10th Anniversary Celebrations; the final countdown!

It is less than a month to go until the 10th Anniversary celebrations of the Changing Places campaign on July 19th.

 

There are some great events planned across the UK and we would like to thank all the wonderful Changing Places campaigners who are helping us celebrate in style!

We’ve pulled together a list of events taking place as well as ideas of how you can get involved.

 

We have released a special booklet to mark the 10th birthday and celebrate what the campaign has achieved over the last decade! You can download this from the website or email publications@mecnap.org.uk for a hard copy. We would like to say a big thank you to the campaigners and sponsors who made this publication possible.

 

In London there will be a special event on the 19th July at the Barbican Cinema hosted by the Centre for Accessible Environments and supported by our campaign sponsors Aveso. The Barbican will also be the starting point for Mike and Raymond from the BTA who are making their way across London on an “URGENT RUN” to raise awareness of the campaign and the need for many more Changing Places across the UK. More info here:

 

We’ve already sent out lots of copies of the Changing Places anniversary press and are looking forward to seeing many news stories and hearing many radio celebrating the importance of Changing Places. You can download your own copy here.

 

Take a trip down memory lane

The past ten years have seen some great campaign successes thanks to the passionate support of hundreds of campaigners across the UK. Why not take a scroll back through the website’s news stories to see how the campaign has grown over the past decade? There are over 150 stories including the many Changing Places “firsts” from the Olympic Games to UK airports, motorway service stations to football stadia, to name a few.

 

Summer Festivals

Over the past few months we have had many, many calls regarding the need for mobile Changing Places to be available at festivals and other summer events. Understanding of this need has grown dramatically over the course of the past 10 years. Back in 2010 we were delighted to support V Festival to install the first Changing Places at their festivals in Chelmsford and Stafford.

At the time Jo Whiley, Radio 1 DJ, said:

 

"British summertime means one thing to me - going to a festival - and most of us are lucky enough to be able to do so without too much worry. But for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities this often isn't the case as many festivals don't have suitable toilets for them to use. 

"That's why it's great to see V festival's continued support for the Changing Places campaign and that they are once again providing suitable toilet facilities for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. It makes me very happy to know that the joys of a British festival are accessible to a whole host of music lovers."

 

It is great so see that event organisers are putting Changing Places in place at their festival venues, such as Glastonbury, and there is clearly a real need for additional mobile facilities across the UK.

 

Facebook News 

Sarah, who runs the Changing Places Facebook page, has reported that there are now over 20 different Changing Places Facebook pages set up by campaigners across the world! This is great news and it is fantastic to see Changing Places getting recognition and support worldwide. Meanwhile Sarah’s UK Changing Places page continues to receive followers from across the globe. Great work!

New Changing Places

There are now 848 Changing Places toilets registered across the UK, with 8 new toilets registered this month. We have had contact recently from airports, football clubs and motorway service stations all wishing to install more Changing Places toilets in 2016. So, watch this space for more information coming soon…

 

Toilets added to the map this month:

 

Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham, FY8 5FT

 

Abbey Park, Abbey Park Road, Leicester, LE4 5AQ

 

Haymarket Bus Station, 37 Belgrave Gate, Leicester, LE1 3HP

 

The Booking Office JD Wetherspoons , 17 Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1BQ

 

Grimsby Leisure Centre, Cromwell Road, Grimsby, South Humberside, DN31 2BH

 

Intu Bromley, High Street, Bromley, BR1 1DN

 

Thistle’s Centre of Wellbeing, Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH16 4EA

 

The Mossy Well, 258 Muswell Hill Broadway. Muswell Hill, London, N10 3SH