Activism

Since becoming a wheelchair user in 2022, I had to find out first hand how inaccessible the world is for disabled people. Little by little I started to open the eyes of those people around me and educate them on how to help. Then as I grew up confidence, I started to talk about my experiences on TikTok.

Over this time I have been showing both the highlights and the lowlights of chronic illnesses and disabilities. TikTok has been one of the most empowering decisions that I could make. The online community which I have had the incredible opportunity to be a part of, has truly made me feel less alone in dealing with everything. Through TikTok I have met so many of my close friends. Thanks to this support system, in late 2023 following Rishi Sunak’s decision to merge the role of minister of disability into a more junior role, and giving it to someone who also is the minister of health and work, meant that I had the opportunity to ensure our voices were heard.

collage of images from the december demo featuring several wheelchair users holding up their signs/attached onto the backs of their chairs

In under two weeks, I managed to organise an entire demonstration outside of downing street. In total we had over 30 disabled people rock up with their mobility aids and placards. Despite the heavy downfall of rain, we still managed to make our voices heard. We used this demo as an opportunity to educate the public about what was happening and even were complimented by the police on the good job we were doing. The community in which I was able to create at the demo, has lead to an online community of disabled people to share experiences, ask for advice and chat to others who understand. My hopes are that this community will continue to grow and between us we will be able to uplift the voices of disabled people across the country to make changes.

If you would like to help us fight this, please take two minutes out of your day to sign this petition and/or write to your MP using this template. Together we will ensure that 16 million disabled people in England are heard.

For more information about the online community, please visit our linktree by clicking here.