Thursday 7 November 2013

Signing the WOW petition by December 12th will change disabled people's lives...

...Yes you heard me right! There is a petition that is asking for the government to pause and reflect on the huge changes and upheaval and life changing events the current welfare reform is having on disabled people.

But I'm not disabled, I hear you say. Signing some petition for disabled people has no effect on my life.

Got a disabled relative? Are your parents getting older, frailer, are they on medication? What about that great neighbour of yours, always willing to help you out who cares for their disabled child 24/7? What about the lad in your sons football squad who has a disability but always takes part and puts his all into the game? And you- what happens if one day you are in a car accident and end up disabled, a fall from a ladder, a diagnosis of cancer?

So this WOW petition is worth signing. Because somewhere you will know someone who will benefit from it.


But aren't petitions useless? The government surely won't be bothered by it?

Not in this case! The WOW petition already has over 76,000 signatures as I write. It needs to reach 100,000 by December 12th 2013. This will force the Government to hold a debate as 100k people
have supported it, which is a significant amount. It shows the Government people are worried and care about the impact of cuts and austerity on disabled peoples lives.

Disabled people in social housing adapted especially for them, are having to move out if they have a spare bedroom and cannot afford to pay an extra £14+ pw for the Bedroom Tax. Disabled people are having lifelong disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy and even people with amputated limbs, having to be assessed and reassessed and assessed again sometimes every 3 months or so in order to claim a benefit called ESA. Many disabled people with even terminal illnesses like cancer are being found fit for work when they obviously are not. This is causing anxiety, stress and even suicides in people's most dark moments when they need to know they have a certain amount of money coming in each week to heat their home and eat properly.

All I ask, and all disabled people want, is for the Government to stop and think again about the impact of the cuts on all disabled people and whether those cuts are justified.

Many excellent campaigners, themselves disabled, like Sue Marsh and Wayne Blackburn have worked tirelessly for some years trying to get MPs of all parties to realise the impact of their decisions upon disabled people. All it takes is a minute of your time to sign a petition and get the people around you to sign it too, and once the WOW petition has reached 100k signatures, the government will be forced to look at how their actions are impacting the lives of disabled people daily.

So please sign. Now.
WOW Petition

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