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Opinion & Upates
Household energy saving tips
We are all trying to save energy and keep costs down in these tough times. You are probably aware of most of the energy saving strategies laid out below, but it doesn’t do any harm to have a look through and see if there are any other methods here to add to your...
You are still you …
It has taken a lot of time for me to admit to myself that I have acquired a disability and five years ago there is no way I thought I’d be writing this but let’s start at the beginning … I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on 23rd February 2009. My disability...
Online connections can be ‘real’ connections
Working as a Digital Inclusion Trainer within the ONSIDE Project I often find that people are quite dismissive of social media as a means of forming connections. They don’t want to communicate through a screen; they want to form “real life” connections in their own...
What if I break it?
"What if I break it?” “I’m not confident” “No-one takes the time to show me how”. These are the usual phrases we hear from our ONSIDE participants prior to starting their digital training programme. As Digital Inclusion Trainers (DIT) we apply empathy to how the...
All young people have the right to thrive
Since 2020 I have worked with the ONSIDE project supporting disabled people who are experiencing social isolation. I am also the mum of a young autistic adult who faces similar challenges to social opportunities that our ONSIDE participants face. I feel it is...
I always argue that most people need to get out more
Once upon a time ... when I still worked in the public sector, there was a much-used phrase, “social depravation”. I remember having to explain to one lady from Ballymoney who didn’t appreciate her community being labelled as “depraved” that social deprivation...
What does social isolation really mean?
The Covid-19 Pandemic introduced us to a new phrase 'social isolation'. Unfortunately, it is a term known only too well by disabled people. Disability Action and other disability advocacy organisations have been raising awareness of this for many years. Perhaps...