Rights - Choice - Control
Our Purpose
Glasgow CIL is a Disabled People's User Led Organisation committed to promoting inclusive living by assisting disabled people to challenge barriers and make informed choices. We will do this by delivering a range of high quality services that aim to equip disabled people with the information, skills, and support necessary to control our own lives.
…a user-controlled organisation…
GCIL is part of the Independent Living Movement. It is an organisation OF, not FOR, disabled people. Full membership of GCIL is open to all disabled people. Our constitution requires that 75% of our Directors are disabled people elected by our Full Members. We believe it is important that our staffing reflects the people who use our services and we therefore try and ensure that the majority of our staff are also disabled people. We are committed to developing and improving our services with the full involvement of our members and service users.
…promoting inclusive living…
At GCIL we believe that disability is created by the organisational, environmental and attitudinal barriers which people with impairments face in the world around them. This is called the social model of disability. We believe that society must change before disabled people can have equal opportunities in areas such as employment, housing, transport and education.
We aim to promote inclusive living by developing and delivering services that assist disabled people in overcoming or removing some of the existing barriers and that help statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations provide more inclusive services.
Our current chairperson, Jim Elder Woodward, has an interesting blog commenting on inclusive living issues.
…to challenge barriers and make informed choices.
Disabled people have identified up to fifteen key areas which need to be addressed to avoid creating barriers and restricting choice: accessible information; peer support and advocacy; accessible housing; an adequate income; appropriate and accessible health care provision; counselling; equal opportunities for employment; technical aids and equipment; inclusive education and training; personal assistance; an accessible transport system; access to the justice system; and access to the environment.
While all of these are important, GCIL's current priorities are to improve disabled people's access to flexible systems of support (eg personal assistance), suitable housing, and employment opportunities. We will aim to do this by providing a range of high quality, relevant services to individuals and organisations and by seeking to influence policy.
…information, skills and support…
For many disabled people managing our own flexible system of support is the key to taking control of our lives. One of GCIL's main aims is to assist disabled people in choosing, setting up and managing a system of support that meets individual need and which maximises choice and control. Increasingly, this will be funded using Direct Payments. GCIL will aim to provide information, training, advocacy, peer support, and practical support services such as payroll, to enable people to successfully manage self-directed support systems. As Direct Payments become more widely available, GCIL is committed to providing appropriate services to people with a wider range of impairments and eventually to other groups of community care service users.
Our Values
At GCIL, we believe that people with impairments have the same human and civil rights as others expect, including the right to choose how we live and the right to self-determination. We believe in the principles of the Independent Living Movement:
Organisations run and controlled by disabled people believe that all human life is of value that anyone, whatever their impairment, is capable of exerting choices that people who are disabled by society's reaction to physical, intellectual and sensory impairment and to emotional distress have the right to assert control over their lives that disabled people have the right to participate fully in society
These key principles underpin what we do and why we do it.
We also aim to be:
Empowering
The social model of disability recognises that the disadvantage that people with impairments experience can be reduced or removed by eliminating the barriers they meet in the world around them. GCIL is committed to working within a social model of disability - equipping disabled people with the information, skills and support needed to challenge barriers.
Inclusive
We will practice and promote Equal Opportunities in governance, in employing staff and in delivering services. We will communicate with our stakeholders in ways that are clear and accessible.
Professional
We will attract, support and develop our high quality staff and welcome their contribution at all levels. We will maintain high standards of practice in organisational and financial management. We are also committed to respecting and promoting the confidentiality and dignity of people who use our services.
Open
We aim for transparency and accountability in all that we do.
Focussed
We aim to deliver high quality, relevant services that make a difference to people's lives and represent best value for funders and service users.
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