Individual Spotlight: James
People with disabilities from across Surrey have been encouraged to use their right to vote in the forthcoming general election with the help of a leading social care provider.
Surrey Choices hosted a discussion at Nexus day service, in Sunbury-on-Thames, to allow customers the chance to find out more about the election, the voting process and the political parties involved.
Local councillors from the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, Labour and UKIP met with Surrey Choices customers on Tuesday 24th March, from 11am-3pm, to talk about what each political party represents and how politics impacts on disabled lives.
Nexus Day Centre, provides specialist support and activities for adults with physical disabilities and mild learning disabilities. It helps customers to gain new skills and confidence through various activities, including arts and crafts, cooking and IT.
The event was organised after Surrey Choices discovered 80 per cent of Nexus customers don’t normally vote as they don’t understand who to vote for.
People from all the Surrey Choices services were invited to attend and ask questions to help them make a decision about which party to vote for.
Simon Laker, Surrey Choices Managing Director, said: “The event was a great success – at Surrey Choices we want to empower disabled people to understand and use their vote, and give them every opportunity to make their voice count.
“This event was organised to assist them in making an informed decision about which party would benefit their needs, and help them understand why their vote is important, in preparation for the forthcoming general election. We want to ensure our customers understand how politics and voting can change the quality and daily support they receive.
“In addition to the event, we are sharing information to help people understand the voting process, as there are loads of great resources available for people with easy read guides. Many of the parties have also agreed to create easy read manifestos and there are already several YouTube videos about each party’s policies that our staff have been sharing with the people we support.
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