This Friday, 11th May, one of our Trustees, Shelley, will be taking part in a campaign to raise awareness of the need for more Changing Places toilets. Shelley has son Fraser, 5, with Duchenne who is a full-time wheelchair user. Navigating a regular disabled toilet with Fraser is becoming increasingly more difficult, with Shelley having to kneel on dirty floors to dress/undress Fraser and having to lift him on/off the toilet.
Shelley has united with long-time Changing Places campaigner, Sarah Brisdion, who is Mum to Hadley aged 7, with Cerebral Palsy. Last December, Sarah had the idea to take a photo of herself every day during the month on the toilet – creating her own ‘Loo Advent’ – to raise awareness and get people talking. She has since become the driving force of ‘Looathon’ and will on Friday, be sitting in the glass-fronted shop window of The Bathstore on London’s busy Baker Street – on the toilet. Sarah will be joined by Shelley and other passionate campaigners, who all have children with varying physical medical conditions, many who face the indignity of having to lie on a dirty toilet floor to have their continence needs met. It is hoped the unique campaign will attract media and national press interest.
Shelley says: “Going to the toilet is a basic human right and Changing Places facilities offer a clean, spacious and private environment to those who need it – having a hoist and changing bench makes a world of difference. Many families fear leaving their homes because public toileting facilities are not adequate – with Fraser having a condition like Duchenne this terrifies me for the future and I want to do something to change it. It doesn’t matter that our children have different medical conditions, they ultimately have the same physical needs and myself, Sarah and our army of like-minded friends are united in this fight to make a difference.”
If you would like to make a donation, this has been organised by our fellow charity, MDUK, who are Co-Chairs of the Changing Places Consortium. Money raised will be ring-fenced to building a Changing Places facility in the UK.
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