DisABILITY Connect – Connecting you to your community
DisAbility Connect is a National Lottery Community Fund 3-year project in partnership with Disability Solutions West Midlands offering social prescribing advice/referral+ to those who have disabilities and/or long-term life-affecting health conditions. The aims of the project are to help and support individuals to link with opportunities within their local community, including social activities, opportunities for support, connection, and growth. Social Prescribing is a term used to describe linking customers with community assets / community-based services and groups.
DisAbility Connect has strived to take social prescribing to the next level (+) in undertaking assessment, action planning and review with bespoke support, keeping the focus on improved health and wellbeing, while supporting customers to engage with services and support.
The Covid 19 pandemic has continued to disproportionately adversely impact people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. People who live with challenging and complex needs have been faced with additional and new challenges. The Team has continued to work constantly to ensure that no person with a disability who is in need has not been left unsupported during this period.
Customers have reported constant difficulty in accessing community services and activities which enable them to live safely and independently, including care assessments, health services, goods and services which meet basic daily living needs such as food, fuel, white goods, and medical aids. In addition, these persons are often socially isolated, reporting increased loneliness and declining mental well-being.
In this data period the Team have pro-actively contacted over 1000 people with disabilities to try ensure they were coping with social restrictions and its impact, to offer practical and emotional support. The Team has also sought to strengthen links with organisations and groups to enable more effective links to people in need of services.
Attempts have been made to strengthen our referral and care pathway and have seen increased referrals from Social Care, Specialist Nurses, and GP Social Prescribers. This enables us to engage appropriately with those with disabilities who are living in isolation and need.
DisABILITY Connect helped socially isolated people access essential services such as food parcels, supermarket delivery services, medication collections, personal hygiene items such as adult continence products and other items that were necessary for health and well-being such as household goods and telephones.
DisABILITY Connect has been a vital link to the wider world for isolated people, helping them to realise they have not been forgotten by offering listening, action, and support for mental wellbeing.
If you are a claimant and believe we can assist you in any way or need some advice and guidance, please contact the team on:
Phone: 01782 667323 or email us
For professional services users who wish to refer a patient or client who needs our support, please fill in our referral form.