Ready TogetherPeople living with disabilities
News and blogsWendy Afonso-Cole, a Grants Officer at, Disability Action Northern Ireland shares how people living with disabilities have been impacted by the pandemic.
BLOG SERIES: Perspectives on the pandemic
More than a year on from the launch of the National Emergencies Trust’s Coronavirus Appeal on 18 March 2020, we have asked our incredible funding partners to share their unique perspectives on the pandemic. In August 2020 the DPO COVID-19 Coalition (a partnership with Disability Action Northern Ireland, Disability Wales, Inclusion Scotland and Inclusion London), led by Disability Action Northern Ireland received Coronavirus Appeal funding to support grassroots Disabled People’s Organisations across the UK, offering advice and vital assistance to those disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Wendy Afonso-Cole, a Grants Officer at, Disability Action Northern Ireland shares how people living with disabilities have been impacted by the pandemic and what disability-led organisations have been doing to overcome the challenges presented by the pandemic.
What difference has the pandemic made to the communities you serve?
The pandemic has had a great negative impact on the lives of disabled people across the UK, the majority of whom have been required to shield. Due to the nature of the wide-ranging physical, learning, mental health, deaf and blind impairments and the barriers they face in communication and accessing mainstream services, this has left them cut off from society, isolated and vulnerable.
The loss of independence reduced social contact and support services has contributed to increased mental health issues and anxiety, development of phobias and difficulty in managing/controlling chronic illnesses.
What impact did you see on your services as a result?
Most organisations have seen a huge increase in service users and demand for their services since the pandemic began which has put them under a lot of pressure, particularly as a number of their staff and volunteers themselves have disabilities and have been required to shield. This has left them short staffed and needing to recruit which has been an additional challenge. In addition to this a number of organisations have lost a portion of their income which would have been generated for example through fundraising activities, again resulting in a loss of paid staff or having to scale down their services.
Due to lockdown, usual in-person activities have stopped and services provided have had to be adapted and expanded in order to meet the needs of members and as such a lot of organisations have taken their activities and services online. There is an increased demand for information, support and advice helplines, counselling services, signposting and translation/ adaptation of documents/web pages.
What challenges and/or opportunities do you foresee ahead?
There are a number of challenges ahead for organisations including sustainability due to loss of income and increased service users. Communication barriers have increased and may continue to be a challenge in particular due to wearing facemasks and the problems this presents for deaf people. The extreme impact the pandemic and lockdown has had on mental health will need to be addressed both for those with existing conditions, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and those who have newly developed conditions, particularly if they present with other impairments their barriers to accessing mainstream counselling services, for example, may be increased. There is an increase in anxiety, agoraphobia, nosophobia, depression and suicide. Some of the opportunities for organisations coming out of lockdown include an increase in members, expanding range and flexibility of services.
