Here, Zack, 27 – a passionate Changing Places campaigner – shares more about the issue and why he’s spearheading the #RiseForSport campaign:
I’m a very sociable person and live life to the full. I enjoy lots of sports, especially football. I am a keen supporter of Manchester United and a member of their disabled supporters’ association. I love getting out and about to lots of events, as often as I can.
However, unfortunately, going to football matches or other sporting events, is either a huge gamble or not possible at all, due to the lack of accessible toilet facilities for people like me.
Sports venues are also used for lots of other events these days. I really enjoy going to pop concerts, festivals and Superhero, TV and Comic Conventions which are often held in sports stadiums.
And these days, while sports venues are usually far more accessible for wheelchair users like me, they are not always fully inclusive of everyone’s basic needs.
“It really restricts our ability to experience these events”
For many disabled people, enjoying sport as a supporter, spectator or participant is almost impossible without Changing Places Toilets.
It really restricts our ability to experience these events and the chance to spend quality time with family, friends and personal assistants on days out. We can spend so much time worrying about where the nearest facilities are, instead of enjoying quality time together.
I simply cannot use a standard public toilet. Even the so-called Accessible toilets usually do not even have enough room for my wheelchair. When I was much younger, my mum or dad used to lift me out of my wheelchair and put me on a roll mat on the toilet floor, or on a baby change bench. This was very uncomfortable, unhygienic, unsafe and undignified. We had to carry a roll mat, wipes and anti-bacterial cleaner with us everywhere we went.
But now I’m an adult and I’m much bigger. I live independently in my own bungalow with 24-hour support from my team of personal assistants. They are not allowed to lift me without a hoist, as this would be unsafe for them and for me. So unless a room with a hoist and an adult sized changing bench is available, I just can’t be changed safely or hygienically.
Changing Places Toilets are the solution and they are life-changing for me. Before I leave home to go anywhere, I have to check if there is a Changing Places Toilet nearby or on route.
And, if I really want to visit a place which does not have a Changing Places Toilet, I have to decide if I really want to take the chance of having to come home early, or risk sitting in a soiled pad, which will be uncomfortable, unhygienic and can be embarrassing for me. It’s just not fair!
A few years ago, I successfully campaigned for funding from the Department for Transport, for £2million pounds, to install more Changing Places Toilets at motorway service stations in England.
We’ve now launched the #RiseForSport petition because we believe everyone has a right to visit, watch and take part in sporting events, without worrying about access to suitable toilet facilities.
We’re asking the government to make Changing Places toilets a legal requirement at all sports venues across the country, and we need your support. We know we can make this change if we raise awareness for this basic need.
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