Last year I did a blog for Aple to mark learning disability week and I spoke about the achievements the community had made in my time of being involved in it. This one is more unplanned. This week I had a job interview, I also was forced to do a safeguarding alert for myself as the health issues I’m currently going through are impacting my life too much. But as I left the job interview Read more…
For APLE month (June 2023) I’ve been asked to do a blog on health inequalities experienced by those living in poverty. I will, hopefully, outline my experiences of living with a disability and recent health scare, as well as experiencing financial hardship and also cover the research that the APLE Collective conducted jointly with The Ada Lovelace Foundation on people’s experiences with NHS Primary Care Health Services both before and after the Covid Pandemic. As those Read more…
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK’s health and social care system has increasingly relied on data-driven systems to deliver medical care and public health intervention to tens of millions of UK residents. After developing a reputation as campaigners on Digital Exclusion, The APLE Collective were approached by Ada Lovelace Foundation and the Health Foundation to fully understand the impact relating to the rapid move towards data-driven systems and begin exploring to what extent the increasing Read more…
I’ve been asked to write this blog giving a few thoughts on why I became a volunteer and how it benefits and shapes my life. First of should fill you in a little bit about my background. Ever since leaving school/college at 18, I’ve always worked. I had hoped to be able to go to university at 18 but due to family circumstances, I felt obligated to get a job and bring money into the family household. I worked Read more…
So, I’ve been volunteering for around five years now, in various formats, across different places and various organisations, some with payment for involvement, some just because I felt strongly about it… What do I get from this?… I get purpose, connection, friendship and validity. I’m at a point where I have a bit of time to offer, which I know not everyone can have, so I am always interested in ways to learn new things, Read more…
APLE Month takes place every June and is a platform to showcase lived experience voices and promote member organisations and other groups that address poverty. It celebrates the collective fruits of our and others’ work, unifying, amplifying, and celebrating small wins in tackling poverty and inequality. APLE Month raises awareness, tackles stigma, and showcases the importance of lived experience voices. Just as tiny seeds grow into mighty trees, APLE’s voice for people grows, through lobbying Read more…
Is the care crisis being cemented by hostility towards those who need care and support? Unfortunately, the quotes were directed for real towards a vulnerable adult in Cornwall. This is not just an issue for Cornwall but for Plymouth and elsewhere too. When society sees people as not people then they simply become figures in the landscape. Social care may not be a deciding factor for Cornwall getting a Mayor. Would a Mayor make any Read more…
Firstly, I wanted to say thank you for the film I made with Inside Housing. I know it has been shared widely and made more people want to share their stories of fuel poverty. The winds of change come when people boldly step forward (despite having to deal with the consequences of poverty and neglect). Exclusion is much more than having no Christmas presents under the tree or missing out on Black Friday sales. Exclusion means having Read more…
“As part of Inside Housing’s Give Fuel Poverty a Voice campaign, sponsored by Aico, he talks about his concern about paying bills next year as energy prices rise.” “Earlier this year, he joined Aple Collective – a group of individuals who experience poverty and are working to eradicate it – to offer his artwork to explain his concerns for people with disabilities and how they often live in poverty as there isn’t the support.” Read the full article Read more…
Introduction: Hello everyone. I was kindly asked if I would do a short blog with my reflections on my first year with the APLE Collective. I joined APLE approximately 11 months ago as a representative of the Poverty Truth Community based in Glasgow. I’ve got to say it’s been a roller-coaster of a year in one way or another. My first introduction to everyone at the APLE Collective was at their first face-to-face meeting after Covid, which was Read more…