Posted 25.01.2022

On behalf of the Disability Action staff and Board of Directors we wish our community and members a happy and safe new year. Thank you for your continued support.

Over the last year, everyone has experienced challenges, disruption and loss as a result of COVID-19 and the more recent variants. People who live with disabilities are among the most affected populations by the pandemic. It is estimated that 60% of people who died from COVID-19 in the UK were d/Deaf and disabled people.

The Disability Action team has continued to provide our services remotely to our community and participants, via one-one meetings via Zoom and phone calls, and face to face meetings on a priority basis, to ensure continuity of service and to support d/Deaf and disabled people in N.Ireland.

In 2022 we plan to continue to call for measures to ensure that d/Deaf and disabled people are fully engaged in planning processes for emergencies such as COVID-19.  

We will continue to add value to the Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO) movement to ensure that our voices are heard and reflected in recovery strategies, and that DPOs are strengthened and sustained to provide the vital advice, support and local action.

We will continue to break down barriers to inclusion and advocate for the rights of d/Deaf and disabled people by engaging with the NI Executive and our political representatives.

We are committed to ending disability discrimination and to greater protections against disability hate crime. 

We will continue to work to promote, protect and uphold the human rights of d/Deaf and disabled people in N.Ireland.

We look forward to sharing our news and disability related news with you throughout the year via our new look monthly online newsletter, website and on social media.

Stay safe.
Andrea Brown, CEO Disability Action NI