Salford Advertiser Pavement Parking Article

I was recently quoted in an article in the Salford Advertiser newspaper, a sister newspaper to the Manchester Evening News, regarding the 'pavement parking' issue that is currently going through Parliament.

Backing for Ban on Pavement Parking

Salfordians have welcomed plans to make it illegal for motorists to park on pavements. A bill is currently moving through Parliament which would make it an offence to park on foot-paths. It is being backed by the charities Guide Dogs and Living Streets who say pavement parking causes a risk to pedestrians forced to walk on the road, as well as damage to kerbs.

Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South, is also supporting the bill, claiming the laws are 'confusing for motorists and dangerous for pedestrians.'

The move has also won the backing of Advertiser readers. Posting on our Facebook page, Kimberley Burrows said "I'm a new Guide Dog owner and welcome this completely. I'm constantly having to walk out into the road because parked cars become obstacles and barriers for myself and my dog to try and navigate around. It's disorientating and alarming to have to go out into the road with very little vision in just one eye but I'm left with no alternative sometimes.'

And Anna Plaskett said: "As a paramedic, I struggle to get down a lot of streets with cars on either side. I often have to find alternative ways to get to my destination as the roads are not passable, meaning whoever has phoned 999 had to wait that bit longer." But she added, "Making people park on the roads and not have tyres on the pavement will make the emergency services jobs harder, plus bin lorries and other large vehicles."

Salford council can only currently fine drivers if there are traffic regulations on the road, while the police can take action if the vehicle is judged to be causing an obstruction or parked dangerously. Councillor Derek Antrobus, Assistant Mayor for strategic planning, said: "We would welcome any additional powers to tackle the problem of nuisance parking but would urge some flexibility for those streets where residents have no alternative but to use the pavement and they do not cause a problem for wheelchair users and prams."

Inspector Phil Bromley, of GMP's Traffic Network Section, said: "Anything that enhances road safety by freeing up pavements for pedestrians is to be welcomed, as vehicles on pavements can obstruct vulnerable people who use the verge or footway."

The bill's second reading in Parliament was due to take place on March 27th. But because it seems unlikely to be debated so close to the General Election, another date may be chosen by the MP.

Transitions Article for Trafford CIL Newsletter

I was recently contacted to write an article for the Trafford CIL (Centre for Independent Living) newsletter, on the topic of the different transitions throughout life. As a severely sight-impaired person transitions have varied from being easy to very difficult depending on the amount of support I have received at the time - and I was more than happy to share my experiences with other disabled people.

Transitions: Your Stories

This edition we say a big thank you to Kimberley via Henshaws Society for Blind People for kindly sharing her personal experience of transition towards adulthood…

"Transitioning in life can be difficult, both emotionally and physically, presenting new challenges and learning curves. Nothing in life can stay the same and we all have to transition in some way; whether it's from childhood, adolescence and adulthood or further learning to employment or voluntary work. IT can be tough to adapt quickly and to accept sudden or gradual change. Now, imagine what it would be like to go through those important transitional stages whilst losing your sight.

As a young severely sight-impaired person, I have had different experiences when it comes to transitioning into the different phases of my life so far. Some have been welcome changes; others have not been so welcome. All of them have been dependent on the varying amount of support I have received at the time.

The transition from primary school to high school was an easy one; an exciting prospect, as I was still very young and most children tend to adapt to different environments easily. I received the same level of support from teachers and peers as I did previously and I still managed as best as I could and received excellent grades. However, as I grew older and learned more about the extent of my sight condition and other health issues, I developed severe depression and anxiety making later transitions more difficult.

The idea of change suddenly became terrifying. I dreaded the moment I would be leaving the high school I was confident and comfortable in during the previous 5 years. The idea of college provided me with a sense of uncertainty and apprehension. I didn't feel like I belonged because of my visual impairment - which was constantly getting worse. No support had been offered to me thus far and I was too scared to reveal the extent of my condition and the support I desperately needed, in fear of being treated to anyone else. As a sixteen year old I wanted nothing more than to fit in and be perceived as a 'normal' teenager.

After recovering from my other illnesses, and coming to terms with my dwindling vision, I began to accept who I was after being in denial for so long throughout my later teenage years. I have received life-changing support from Henshaws Society for Blind People over the past year and a half in terms of living with sight loss, daily living skills, mobility training, employability guidance and, now, a work placement with the fundraising and marketing team. Being given the opportunity to develop friendships and connect with other visually impaired people for the first time has also increased my confidence and sense of well-being. The combination of learning new skills, being offered constant support and a strong social network has helped me to become who I am today.

Becoming a volunteer and undertaking a work placement has been the easiest transition of all thanks to Henshaws and the wonderful work that they do. I have recently been matched to my Guide Dog and will undergo intense training which will eventually see me lead a more independent life; travelling alone, accessing social opportunities and being a part of the working environment - just like anyone else.

Ten years ago I would have found this to be the most daunting thing I have ever faced. Today I relish in new challenges, feel a strong sense of determination and look forward to my next transition!

You can find out more about the Trafford Centre for Independent Living and the services they offer by visiting their website here.

Article in Puppy Tails Magazine

I was recently invited to write an article for the Puppy Tails magazine which is now available to read in their Autumn / Winter edition, issue number 68. The magazine is produced in co-operation with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association UK, for volunteers by volunteers.

In the article I document my Guide Dog journey so far during the time it was written; from finding out about the Guide Dogs charity through the 'Living With Sight Loss' course provided by Henshaws Society for Blind People at my local community centre in the Summer of 2013, signing up to be a Guide Dog service user in September 2013, having my work placement at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Atherton, Leigh, as part of the 12-week Skillstep course by Henshaws, and being captured on film by Blue Peter during my time there!

Article reads: "My name is Kimberley Burrows, I'm 25, and I've been severely visually impaired all of my life.I was born as a premature baby suffering from congenital cataracts that weren't noticed until I was 4 years old; resulting in underdeveloped optic nerves, the removal of my natural lenses, a sensitivity to light, night blindness and only 10% central vision in my left eye.

During the summer of last year I attended a 'Living With Sight Loss' course, provided by Henshaws Society for Blind People, at my local community centre. This allowed me to converse with other people suffering from sight loss in my local area for the first time. The course ran for 6 weeks and covered a variety of different topics which included mobility, transport, concessions, passes and benefits, personal safety and access to information through talking newspapers and talking books.

through one of the many visits from other organisations, I was introduced to the Guide Dogs charity and the life-changing work that they do to help visually impaired and blind people gain stronger independence and mobility skills through a working partnership with a specially-trained canine. I had never considered applying for a Guide Dog before, but the visit from the volunteer soon changed my mind! She was full of confidence, enthusiasm and determination thanks to her working partnership with her black Labrador - and these were traits I could only dream of at the time! My confidence was lacking and my mobility skills were very much non-existant.

A few months later in early September, it was the annual Fun Day event at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Atherton, Leigh. The visit from the volunteer earlier in the summer really made an impression on me; so I decided to head along and witness first-hand the work that Guide Dogs do. I met puppy walkers, mobility instructors, trainers and volunteers and they all echoed and reinforced the same sentiments as the volunteer I'd met on the Living With Sight Loss course previously - that working with a Guide Dog is extremely beneficial and does indeed boost confidence, self-esteem and independence to new levels. That was it, I just had to apply! One of the staff members helped to fill in my application form and I was very pleased with the outcome from the Fun Day event!

Two months later, I received my first home visit from a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor. He discussed at length the benefits that I would receive from having a Guide Dog enter my life and also explained the process of the application; completing a medical form, being assessed using a long cane and empty harness, before being matched to potential dogs. Then proceeding by entering the training process before completing and qualifying the programme. A week later, I had my second home visit and my mobility skills were assessed using my long cane.

The final part of the assessment, which involves walking with the empty harness, wasn't to be completed until the following summer, in early August, while I was undertaking a two-week work placement at the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Atherton, Leigh. At the beginning of the summer I had become part of a new course, called Skillstep, again provided by Henshaws Society for Blind People, which I had found out about through the Living With Sight loss course the previous year.

Skillstep is a 12-week course designed to help visually impaired and blind people gain employability skills through vocational and computer training, while providing the opportunity of a two-week work placement. I knew immediately that I wanted my placement to be at Guide Dogs; to have the unique insight into the training process and to learn some new skills for when I'm matched to my own Guide Dog.

I was lucky enough to be a part of various departments and experience the many different roles within the training centre; including puppy training, obedience training, dog care, volunteering and reception work. I enjoyed all of these roles immensely, but have to say that the dog care department was my favourite - and I am now an expert groomer! Towards the end of the second day, I had the fantastic opportunity of being able to experience what it's like to work with a dog in full harness. I was guided around an outside obstacle course filled with traffic cones, safety barricades, A-boards and sign posts with ease and it confirmed to me that signing up for a Guide Dog was the right direction to take and is something I will greatly benefit from in the near future!

Blue Peter were filming on the Monday that I was working in the volunteering department, and between breaks I was guided to the indoor training arena to watch some of the filming take place. I even had the chance to meet Blue Peter's very own Guide Dog puppy, Iggy, afterwards and have a photo taken with her! When the episode premiered on television that was filmed during my placement, I was notified by quite a few people through my blog that I had appeared in the background of some of the footage of Iggy!

On the last morning of my work placement, I received my third and final home visit in the application process; looking at my home-life and the people and pets I live with, assessing the garden where my Guide Dog would spend, and identifying some of the routes I would be taking in my local area. We took one such route for the empty harness part of the assessment, and I learned some of the basic commands to give a Guide Dog when we are working together. I did extremely well in my harness assessment; largely due to the instructor sneakily veering right towards the Butcher's en route, and me recognising where in the route I was to snap back the harness, show that this was not my destination and focus on to the end of the road. Because of this, I passed with flying colours!

My application was completed and accepted the same day, and I have officially been on the waiting list to be matched for 2 months now. It's been a long journey of 13 months already, but I'm sure it's going to be well worth the wait when I'm finally matched, trained and living a completely independent life!"

Monthly Columnist for M44 News

I was kindly asked by Steve Moss - the Editor of M44 News, my local news and events magazine - to become a monthly contributor columnist for the magazine, sharing my views and stories to local residents in my area. It's an amazing opportunity and I was deeply honoured to be asked! The new issue is now available in PDF format on the M44 News website and physical copies will be mailed to over 10,000 local homes this coming weekend.

In my first column in the newest issue, I write about the conference that I recently attended with the Greater Manchester Police Crime Commissioner and his engagement team, to help improve services for blind and visually impaired people in the Greater Manchester area. I also introduce myself by providing a profile picture and biography, and also give a short snippet of what I hope to achieve with the regular column.

Kimberley's View

Through my monthly column I hope to be able to change people's perceptions of visually impaired and blind people and what they can be capable of achieving, and perhaps even dispel any stereotypes and misconceptions that they may have. I also aim to give an interesting insight into what it's like to be severely visually impaired and the issues that matter to me.

I recently attended a half-day conference, set up by the Greater Manchester Police Crime Commissioner, Tony Lloyd, and his engagement team, in regards to meeting the needs of blind and visually impaired people. The aim of the conference was to provide an opportunity to the sight-impaired to share experiences, concerns, praise and recommendations for improvement in relation to the services they receive from Greater Manchester Police.

Among the attendees were representatives from the Manchester Guide Dogs mobility team, the Salford Sensory team, Manchester Blind Football Club, and the RNIB Regional Campaigns Officer for the North West - as well as blind and visually impaired people local to the Manchester area who wanted to share their views and experiences.

The agenda of the day was to have table-top discussions regarding the accessibility of GMP and communication, current reporting mechanisms, hate crime, crime prevention and keeping safe. Engagement officers were based at each table making notes to then be fed back to form a report and help to shape accessibility and the hate crime reporting process.

Tony Lloyd, the Crime Commissioner of GMP, said: "It's quite right that our police service should serve all members of our community. We are all on a journey, here, not just the police but all services. We all need to work harder to find ways to remove the - often unnecessary - barriers faced by people with disabilities in our community."

He ended his speech by stating that the conference was not a conclusion to meeting the needs of blind and visually impaired people in Greater Manchester, but just the beginning.

Biography

Kimberley Burrows is the RNIB's Young Illustrator for 2014, a steering group member of Envision (a young person's campaigning network in association with the RNIB) specialising in communications and social media, a keen blogger writing her own sight loss blog as well as contributing monthly to the blogs of Living Paintings and Henshaws Society for Blind People, and a volunteer Braille tutor at Henshaws.

She recently received media attention for her illustrations as a severely sight-impaired person, featuring in the Salford Advertiser and Manchester Evening News, shown on Granada Reports and on the web at the Daily Mail Online website.

The June edition of M44 News will be on doorsteps this coming weekend!