NAWRA met on Zoom on 10 and 11 September 2020. Slides and notes from the event are available now in the members area.
Glasgow’s Miles Better – September 2020
Members
Claiming PIP during the COVID-19 pandemic
Craig Samuel, NAWRA’s rep for Scotland, has written a report on our members experiences of helping clients to claim PIP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the report.
NAWRA online presents…’What does the future of advice service delivery look like?
Thursday 30th July 2020 from 10 am to 12 noon (via Zoom).
- What have you learnt from the ‘lockdown’ about different ways of working? What has been positive, what has been less successful, and what have you done to help overcome problems and barriers?
- Has your workload changed? Has it increased or reduced? Have the types of enquiries changed?
- Has your funding been affected or is likely to be affected in the future? Have you taken on more staff, or lost colleagues?
- What do you need to happen so that you feel safe returning to work? What about venues you don’t directly control (e.g. outreach services)?
- Are there new ways of working that you will take forward, even when it is ‘safe’ to return to office working?
- How will you hold team meetings, training and similar events in future?
On 30th July, you can join colleagues from across the UK to discuss these, and other issues, as part of our latest NAWRA online event.
The session will open with a brief outline of the key issues from our Chair, Alan Markey, and from NAWRA committee member Corin Hammersley. Alan will look at these issues from the perspective of his own charity, Coventry Independent Advice Service, and Corin will look at things from a local authority welfare rights perspective.
We will then break into small groups to discuss these topics and share experiences, coming back together at the end for a feedback session. We are sure that everyone present will take away something from the event that will be useful in their own workplace.
We are keen for members to volunteer to lead the group discussions and feedback to the main session from their group. If you would like to volunteer for this in advance, please let us know by emailing kelly@nawra.org.uk
Booking for the event will be via an Eventbrite link sent to members. Please put the session in your diaries now!
NAWRA events on Zoom – some guidelines and useful tips
As always, NAWRA events are free but open to members only. Find out about joining.
Disability benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic
Craig Samuel, NAWRA’s rep for Scotland, would like to find out about your experience of supporting clients to claim PIP during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please complete the survey by 30 July.
If you have any questions or additional comments please contact Craig directly at craig@nawra.org.uk
Black Lives Matter
In light of recent events in the United States, and the worldwide response led by the Black Lives Matter movement, NAWRA wishes to affirm our hatred of racism and our commitment to ensuring that NAWRA is a fully inclusive organisation.
As a membership-led body, we are strongly committed to ensuring we represent all of our members. We strongly value the diversity of our membership and we make a commitment not to tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination.
However, we recognise that we cannot be complacent about racism within our own organisation and the wider inequalities within society. The NAWRA committee is looking at ways that we can improve. We are committed to ensuring that NAWRA is an inclusive organisation where members are free from discrimination, but we know we can do more.
We know that learning more about the inequalities faced by the Black community and reflecting on them, is crucial. We welcome all our members’ thoughts and ideas for where we can take positive action that helps us make a stand against racism more broadly and to challenge structural and institutional racism that perpetuates these injustices.