Join the Lewisham Disabled People's Commission

Lewisham Disabled People’s Commission is an independent user-led organisation investigating barriers faced by disabled residents in the borough. We aim to put disabled people at the very heart of decision making.

Who can apply

After a pause during the pandemic, we have returned to this work and our priority recruitment groups are:

• d/Deaf signers
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) deaf signers/disabled people (and other deaf signers and disabled people who experience racism)
• d/Deaf signers and disabled people using Council services such as housing (including L&Q/Lewisham Homes) and social care.

You do not need to be in any of these priority groups to apply, as long as you are a d/Deaf signer or disabled.

Why do we want you?

Over the next eight months, we will be rolling out a borough wide survey for d/Deaf signers and disabled people, running a series of focus groups about the experiences d/Deaf signers and disabled people have in the borough and analysing this to produce a ground breaking report.

This will propose positive ways forward to ensure that the borough is accessible to d/Deaf signers and disabled people and to involve d/Deaf signers and disabled people in the decision making structures of the Council.

By joining the commission, you can help us shape and deliver this. You don’t need any specific knowledge or experience – we want to talk to you if you are a d/Deaf signer and/or disabled and most of all, enthusiastic and committed to improving things within Lewisham.

How to apply

If you are interested in joining the commission, please send a short CV and/or cover letter (English or British Sign Language) by 8 October to Catherine Logan, Senior Policy and Strategy Officer at catherine.logan@lewisham.gov.uk

If you fit into one of our priority recruitment groups, please let us know in your application.

When we talk about being deaf and/or disabled, we include neurodivergent and/or autistic people, people with mental health illness or ongoing mental health problems, people with chronic illnesses, physical, cognitive/learning, visual, or hearing impairments, those who are hard of hearing, deaf people whose first or preferred language is British Sign Language and others facing access barriers.