To: Haringey Council

Save our autism services in Haringey

Save the care and support services for severely learning disabled and autistic adults in Haringey.

Haringey Council plans to cut the last remaining day services, residential homes and support services for disabled people.

Please help stop the closure of day and residential centres, and care funding being cut for those with autism and learning disabilities who need this essential support to live.

Why is this important?

My 22-year old son James – who has autism and severe learning disabilities – is one of many vulnerable disabled adults who rely on these services. Cuts in support services will have a devastating effect on the lives of all these people - like my son - who are unable to speak up for themselves.

Haringey Council plans to cut millions from their budget, with services for disabled and the most vulnerable people bearing the brunt. Just before Christmas I found out that the Council has started a very short consultation about autism and day centre service closures.
Haringey Council sent a document to the disabled people who use the services. However, it was only sent out a few days before Christmas and failed to mention some key points.

The document did NOT mention the plans to shut three of only four remaining day centres. How can seriously disabled people have their say if they haven’t been clearly told what the plans are? This shows that Haringey are not conducting this consultation in a fair or clear way.

My son James needs specialist support 24/7 to keep him safe and to help him to take part in everyday activities, like going to the shops or swimming, that give him some enjoyment in life. If he does not get this support he gets anxious, starts hitting himself or banging his head on the floor. And I am sorry to say, he will attack others too.

There are so many people like James in Haringey, who rely on day centres and support services to give them safety and stability in their lives. If these cuts go through I fear for the future of my son and many people like him. Without these essential support services, their future looks bleak. Please help us to stop this from happening.

Haringey Council wants to shift the burden of care for people like James back on to families and carers. But only the most severely disabled are currently getting services, and many families will not be able to cope without this support.

I want your help to say to Haringey Council:
• Don’t close the three day centres for people with disabilities (including the only dedicated autism day service)
• Don’t cut care and support packages for adults with the most complex needs
• Don’t cut social work staff

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Partner

The National Autistic Society

Links

Campaign Website

Updates

2015-01-21 16:48:10 +0000

Supporters and friends - we now have an official campaign website!
You can find it here:
http://saveautismservicesharingey.co.uk/

Visit the website to see all sorts of details of our campaign, including letters we've sent to the Haringey councillors - who will be the ones responsible for either voting to go ahead with the cuts or to reject them. There's also research we did into the impact of cuts, the statements of support from MPs and others, as well as the Haringey council documents sent out to parents and people who use the day centres.
In the 'resources' section there is a consultation response from someone with a learning disability describing how people have been going to the day centre for years and if this stops, they just don't know how will they see their friends or get out and about.

Thank you again to all of you who have signed - the numbers are still rising and it is good to know that we are not alone in opposing these cuts.

Best wishes,

Mary

2015-01-10 08:49:07 +0000

5,000 signatures reached

2015-01-09 18:23:46 +0000

THANK YOU so much to all of you who have signed the petition so far. I am overwhelmed by the response and can't believe we are edging towards 5,000 sign-ups already!

Today we have received support from Lynne Featherstone - a Haringey MP. She came to visit our carers coffee morning yesterday and met some of the people these cuts will affect. She has written to the Leader of Haringey Council urging her to abandon this budget. You can see her press statement here: http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org/category/news

Next week we are having a campaigns meeting and will also be launching a campaign website. As soon as it's up and running I'll post a link.
Thank you again, and keep sharing the petition link!
Mary

2015-01-07 17:59:18 +0000

Over 1000 signatures in less than 24 hours is truly astounding! Thank you so much to everyone who has signed and shared this petition.

Last night I, and other Haringey carers, featured on Eddie Nestor's DriveTime radio show. We were interviewed about the impact these cuts will have on us and our adult children if they go ahead. You can listen to the programme here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02fhxgt

We've also had meetings, letters and support from three of the parliamentary candidates in the area which we hope will have some impact on the Council's final decision.

The more signatures we get, the stronger our voice will be to convince the people in power to stop these cuts.

So, thank you again and please keep sharing the petition with others.

Mary

2015-01-07 15:16:34 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2015-01-07 13:01:33 +0000

500 signatures reached

2015-01-06 20:49:47 +0000

100 signatures reached

2015-01-06 19:19:17 +0000

50 signatures reached

2015-01-06 17:35:41 +0000

25 signatures reached

2015-01-06 16:57:26 +0000

10 signatures reached