Abby Craft (7) is the youngest learner at Up With Down’s. She found Anna Lavin’s soft shoulder “just right” to cuddle against.
With November being Disability Rights Awareness Month, GO GEORGE once again collaborated with key stakeholders who take an interest in people with disabilities, to raise awareness and achieve greater efficiency towards an inclusive public transport service. The focus is on the attributes of GO GEORGE that make it accessible to all and empower the community to access work, economic, social and educational opportunities.
Persons with disabilities include those who have perceived or actual physical, psychosocial, intellectual, neurological and/or sensory impairments and who, as a result of various attitudinal, communication, physical or information barriers, are hindered from participating fully and effectively in society on an equal basis with others.
Attitude change
According to Morné Lakay, Acting GO GEORGE Manager, the bus service aims to empower frontline staff such as Call Centre agents, information officers and communication champions with skills to support persons with disabilities.
“We also want to assist with the process of attitude change among passengers. People’s intentions might be pure, but they might not know how to approach a person with a disability when offering assistance. We need to keep in mind that not all disabilities are visible when we interact with people in public and that many people might require different ways of interaction. People might refer to ‘wheelchair-bound’ people while the correct terminology is wheelchair users – that is the kind of mindset change we want to help bring about. Once we see passengers voluntarily getting up from a priority seat in the bus to offer it to a person with special needs, we’ll know that we’ve achieved our objective,” Lakay said.
The red-backed priority seats meant for passengers with disabilities and other special needs are clearly discernible on the lower floor of the bigger buses as well as on the minibus, and offer more leg space.
Awareness activities
A sensitisation workshop with GO GEORGE frontline staff is presented annually to empower communication champions and Call Centre agents to better understand and support persons with disabilities. Especially for new staff, this is an enlightening experience and conveys insight they are eager to share and apply.
GO GEORGE staff always enjoy their visits to the Up with Down’s Centre for children and adults with Down’s syndrome and other special needs. Latching on to the school’s current theme of safety during the holidays, they requested assistance to arrange an educational bus trip to empower young adults on the autism spectrum to use the bus service independently. The younger learners had their own joy ride.
Anyone with a disability who feels uncertain about using the GO GEORGE bus service is welcome to phone the GO GEORGE Call Centre on 0800 044 044 to request personal guidance and assistance from passenger support staff.
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Staff UA training: Universal Access specialist Colette Fransolet takes a group of GO GEORGE communication champions through an interactive training session regarding engagement with passengers with different disabilities.
Up with Downs young adults: An educational bus trip to empower young adults on the autism spectrum to use the bus service independently latched on to Up with Down’s current theme of safety during the holidays.
Theo Arries boarding bus: Theo Arries from Conville uses a wheelchair and although he can hear, he communicates through sign language. Theo uses the bus service daily, transfers from the community bus to the main route to the city centre all on his own and finds the service most convenient.
Passenger in priority seat DRAM: The red-backed priority seats meant for passengers with disabilities and other special needs are clearly discernible on the lower floor of the bigger buses as well as on the minibus, and offer more leg space.
AFRIKAANS OP VOLGENDE BLADSY
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MAAND VIR BEWUSMAKING VAN GESTREMDES
GO GEORGE fokus op houdingsverandering onder busgebruikers
Aangesien November bewustheidsmaand vir die regte van persone met gestremdhede is, het GO GEORGE weer eens met sleutelbelanghebbendes saamgewerk om bewustheid te verhoog en groter doeltreffendheid vir ‘n inklusiewe openbare vervoerdiens te bewerkstellig. Die fokus is op die kenmerke van GO GEORGE wat dit vir almal toeganklik maak en die gemeenskap bemagtig om toegang tot werk-, ekonomiese, maatskaplike en opvoedkundige geleenthede te verkry.
Persone met gestremdhede sluit in diegene met fisiese, psigososiale, intellektuele, neurologiese en/of sensoriese gestremdhede en wat as gevolg van verskeie houdings-, kommunikasie-, fisiese of inligtingstruikelblokke verhinder word om ten volle en effektief en op gelyke basis in die samelewing deel te neem.
Houdingsverandering
Volgens Morné Lakay, waarnemende GO GEORGE-bestuurder, het die busdiens ten doel om frontliniepersoneel soos inbelsentrumagente, inligtings- en passasiersdiensbeamptes te bemagtig met vaardighede om persone met gestremdhede te ondersteun.
“Ons wil ook help met die proses van houdingsverandering onder passasiers. Mense se bedoelings kan suiwer wees, maar hulle weet dalk nie hoe om ‘n persoon met ‘n gestremdheid te benader wanneer hulle hulp aanbied nie. Ons moet in gedagte hou dat nie alle gestremdhede sigbaar is wanneer ons met mense in die openbaar omgaan nie en dat baie mense verskillende maniere van interaksie benodig. Mense kan na ‘rolstoelgebonde’ mense verwys, terwyl die korrekte terminologie rolstoelgebruikers is – dit is die soort ingesteldheidsverandering wat ons wil help bewerkstellig. Sodra ons sien hoe passasiers vrywillig van ‘n prioriteitsitplek in die bus opstaan om dit aan ‘n persoon met spesiale behoeftes te bied, sal ons weet dat ons ons doelwit bereik het,” het Lakay gesê.
Die prioriteitsitplekke met rooi rugleunings wat vir passasiers met gestremdhede en ander spesiale behoeftes bedoel is, is duidelik onderskeibaar op die laer vloer van die groter busse sowel as op die minibus, en bied meer beenruimte.
Bewusmakingsaktiwiteite
‘n Sensitiseringswerkswinkel met GO GEORGE-frontliniepersoneel word jaarliks aangebied om passsiersdiensbeamptes en inbelsentrumagente te bemagtig om persone met gestremdhede beter te verstaan en te ondersteun. Veral vir nuwe personeel is dit ‘n leersame ervaring en dra dit insig oor wat hulle gretig is om te deel en toe te pas.
GO GEORGE-personeel geniet altyd hul besoeke aan die Up with Down’s-sentrum vir kinders en volwassenes met Down-sindroom en ander spesiale behoeftes. In aansluiting by Up with Down’s se huidige tema van veiligheid gedurende die vakansie het die personeel ‘n opvoedkundige busrit gereël om jong volwassenes op die outismespektrum te bemagtig om die busdiens onafhanklik te gebruik
onafhanklik te gebruik en aan te sluit by die skool se huidige tema van veiligheid gedurende die vakansie. Die jonger leerders het hul eie plesierrit onderneem.
Enigiemand met ‘n gestremdheid wat onseker voel oor die gebruik van die GO GEORGE-busdiens, is welkom om die GO GEORGE-inbelsentrum by 0800 044 044 te skakel om persoonlike leiding en hulp van passasiersdiensbeamptes aan te vra.
