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Debbie has been using Independent Lives services since 2007. She lives in Horsham. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) when I was in my early twenties. I was hit by a car, and immediately after the accident I had numbness from my waist down. The symptoms of numbness would subside and then return, and

Maxine has been using Independent Lives services since 2023. She lives in Worthing with Lottie and her husband.    I had Lottie in 2003, which, looking back on it now, seems a lifetime ago. I didn’t know that I was pregnant with a daughter with Down Syndrome, she was diagnosed 24 hours after she was born.

In the first part of a three-part series, our comms volunteer Sarah talks about her experiences raising her son, Jamie. By the time my son’s severe (mostly non-verbal) autism became clear at age three, the health issues that had affected me from age 18 were beginning to return. I had suffered from what was eventually

Our comms volunteer Sarah gives her personal perspective on the Government’s ‘Ask Don’t Assume’ campaign.   As a disabled person, do non-disabled people make assumptions about you and/or your abilities or give help or advice when you don’t want it? If so, you’re not alone.   A Government campaign ‘Ask Don’t Assume’ features the voices of people with various disabilities who describe their feelings

Independent Lives has received a £400 Empowering Local Communities Grant from the Asda Foundation. This funding is allocated for the creation of wellness bags for their Home First service customers. These wellness bags are designed to assist individuals transitioning from hospital care to their homes, providing them with essential items that support their recovery and

Independent Lives community researcher – Cara Redlich (right), shares her experience of starting work with Independent Lives and working on a project she feels really passionate about. In June 2023, I started a new and exciting job with Independent Lives. This charity focuses on helping people with disabilities and carers. My job is to study

It came to light recently that a Government report from 2020- 2021 into public support for the use of different types of public toilet provision produced some interesting results. One stood out: 2% of responses were said to support the use of accessible toilet provision – just 351 out of 17589 responses in total. Sound

In a marvellous display of horticultural skill, a group of disabled gardeners triumphed in this year’s Sompting in Bloom awards, clinching first place in the Blooming Community category. Sompting in Bloom is a yearly gardening competition run by Sompting Parish Council and sponsored by Sompting Estate. This year, local gardeners put their skills to the

As the weather turns colder, the Government is ramping up its COVID-19 vaccination programme for 2023. The Government has confirmed which groups will be entitled to an autumn COVID-19 booster. They are: Residents in care homes for older adults; All adults aged 65 years and over; People aged six months to 64 years in a

Leanne has been using Independent Lives services since 2022. She lives in Crawley with her daughter. Life has been a struggle for us for a long time. Aside from living with my impairments, my daughter and I escaped domestic abuse and lived in one room for three years. When we arrived in Sussex, we didn’t