What makes CYA different to other campaign groups?
Hi! My name is Thomas and I am a member of Coventry Youth Activists (CYA). We are on the lookout for new people to join the campaign team, keep reading to the bottom to find out more…I wanted to write this blog to share my thoughts on CYA…
We have a range of disabilities within our group - some have physical, some have learning, we have a couple of people who are neurodiverse, some of us have hidden illnesses and one of us is non-verbal.
We have connected well through our lived experiences. This gives us a lot of lived experience, knowledge and power. However, some people look at us and see only our disabilities. They don’t see all our skills, knowledge and experiences. This makes us feel annoyed and we want to do something to change peoples perceptions of disabled people.
Jodie and Joanna campaigning outside Facebook’s HQ in London
CYA is more than a campaign group for us
When you have a disability it can be hard to socialise and find new friends. At CYA we work on our campaign AND have social nights. We go out for meals, out to clubs as well as different activity nights. The socials help us to get to know each other better. They also give us a chance to have time away from our campaign work to recharge our energy levels. The photos below were taken on our last social night in January
Who do you know who has a disability? Is it one of your friends, family members or work colleagues?
Some people look at our work and dont show any interest as they dont have a disability, they look at us and think it's not for them. But most people will more than likely know somebody with a disability. So it's important for them to be aware of online disability hate, how to spot it, how to challenge it and how to report it.
One of our allies in London with a banner that says:
“Words are not temporary”
We have created on Ally Pack and a monthly newsletter to share tips, tricks, knowledge and further information to help YOU stand in solidarity with us so that you are able to stand up to online disability hate and any ableist comments you may see.
We are looking for new people to join our campaign team. If you answer “Yes!” to the questions below fill out this form or scan the QR code and we will be in touch
Thank you for reading my blog post. Please feel free to share…
Thomas
