Campaigns Action Groups are groups of solely disabled people who campaign on issues that affect them in their communities every day. Campaigns Action Groups are completely autonomous from Leonard Cheshire Disability and it is group members who decide on what they campaign on.
Why campaign in the local area?
Leonard Cheshire Disability aims to change attitudes to disability. We want to ensure that disabled people are leading the campaigns so that their voices are heard. By campaigning, disabled people can influence the decisions made by local authorities and make sure that they are heard by those in power.
Where are the Campaigns Action Groups?
There are many groups across the whole of the UK from London to Merseyside and new ones are being set up all the time. By early 2008 some CAGs will be set up in Scotland as well.
What are the groups doing?
Each group has its own identity and prioritises its own issues. Some issues that groups have worked on include inaccessible shops, unfair charges for social care, dropped kerbs, inaccessible public transport and wheelchair service provision.
This video explains more about the work of our Campaigns Action Groups:
Some recent successes...
• A Campaign Action Group in Battersea, London, has successfully lobbied London Buses about the attitudes of bus drivers. They were invited to take part in a new training video to be shown to all 25,000 London bus drivers.
• The happy campaigners of Wandsworth have been out photographing uneven pavements and will be creating a map of all the uneven pavements in Wandsworth.
• The ASPIRE Campaign Action Group in Derbyshire have got several shops in their town centre to install ramps and even won a campaign to get a major food chain to install an accessible toilet in their local branch.
• A Campaign Action Group in Kendall is working with Cumbria County Council to raise awareness of the need for accessible transport in rural areas.
Do group members need to know how to campaign?
All Campaign Action Group members are committed to changing things for the better for disabled people, and each group member has his or her own experiences and skills to bring to the group. No specific campaigning experience is necessary to join a Campaigns Action Group, simply the will and determination to make a difference. The campaigns team have produced a Campaign Action Group Resource Pack providing guidance and tips for running a successful campaign.
How can we get involved with Campaigns Action Groups?
If you are a service user who would be interested in setting up a group, or a staff member or volunteer who would like to support service users to do so, please contact your Local Campaigns Co-ordinator. If your area does not have a Local Co-ordinator please contact the National Campaigns Co-ordinator, who will give you all the support you need.
