Vida Black: A woman of substance
- By Brian Leveson
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- 21 Dec, 2021
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An interview with Vida Black, co-founder of Haringey based “Brightstars” Autistic club and winner of the European Diversity Awards “Community Project of the Year” for 2021.
Haringey resident Vida Black has just won the European Diversity Award "Community Project of the Year 2021" for being the co-founder of "Brightstars" - but who is she?
Firstly, I see myself as a mother and carer.
I am a positive person. I don’t give up easily on anything. My son Claude is a blessing and because of him, I have met wonderful people and other Carers.
For more information
How did Brightstars come about?
Brightstars club, came about because of Claude, when the Children service stopped all his social activities when he turned 18 years old. How do you explained to an 18 year old autistic who has a mental age of 4 year old, with challenging behaviour that, he can’t get any support because he is now an adult?
It’s was very challenging and difficult time for him and the rest of the family and I thank God that, my other children and my siblings help and support me.
It’s was through the challenges that the idea of running our own club came about.
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How did your co-founder Suezanne Awotwi get involved?
Suezanne, my co- founder of Brightstars, is the best.
Even though Suezanne has no child with disabilities or autism she has a passion for caring for people with autism and disabilities which makes her wonderful person.
Suezanne and I are just two women who put our head together to make a difference in our community and it’s has pay off in terms of recognition of Brightstars
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What next for Vida Black?
We are still overwhelmed and humbled to received the award.
I chair the Adult learning Disabilities Carers forum and
I advocate for Carers and their loved ones on their reviews and assessment.
For more information
https://brightstarsspecialclub.com/
https://www.europeandiversityawards.com/winners-2021
She never stops!
If you thought SEND was bad - the NHS is seemingly prepared to throw away money to private companies
About 3 or 4 times a year we get the euphemistic message 'Parents please note we have put a letter in your child's bag' - its a world away from how a child's death was handled in my child's first school
More of a trial by ordeal than a well organised clearly set out administrative process for moving the care of vulnerable young adults from Haringey's Children's Services to Adult Services. We have been failed at every stage of the process.
Never EVER get on the bus without a camera running if you need the priority wheelchair space
The reality of using a London Bus in the teeming rain on a Sunday afternoon is no joke when the parents of a paraplegic person in a wheelchair clash with the self-entitled buggy-pushing parents of toddlers.
At 3pm today I received some barefaced lies from Haringey Council Adult Social Care in response to a photograph I published online yesterday and the media interest it generated
Haringey SEND Transport are insisting that a 17 year old minibus with no air conditioning is a suitable vehicle to transport my paraplegic son in this heatwave. The appalling conditions inside the minibus inside the bus is something they knew about last summer, yet they have to date done nothing whatsoever provide a suitable minibus this year nor appropriately mitigate the temperatures inside the minibus.The conditions inside the minibus are so bad that they triggered multiple seizures during the heatwave as my son has epilepsy, which they SEND transport department know about and they also know that they are triggered by heat.It is not just son who is impacted: last year we know of one child who died on Haringey SEND Transport in the summer heatwave and another who had seizures.
I am simply asking a question - are we all absolutely certain that the road closure / travel restrictions (commonly know as LTNs) placed on some of the most severely disabled people who are wholly reliant on cars are absolutely necessary
Haringey's road closures exemptions policy for disabled people is not fit for purpose, unduly burdensome and intrusive - it's time to stand up against the pro-LTN lycra-clad cycling bullies
Is the argument for and against exemptions for disabled people in Low Traffic Neighbourhoods really a case of GOOD versus EVIL?
