For International Assistance Dog Week, The Coalition and Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey are sharing advice on rights of entry for Assistance Dogs, how to act around an Assistance Dog and the impact access refusals can have on the handler. What is an Assistance dog? Assistance Dogs are highly trained to support Disabled people […]

About the focus groups: These focus groups act as a safe spaces for adults with learning disabilities and their Carers to share their experiences of using services in East Surrey.  The Coalition will use the focus groups’ findings to help Surrey Heartlands understand where services are working well and where they are not, and how they can […]

Our Wellbeing Get Together for June was a visit to Hampton Court Palace including a tour of the Tudor Palace. For an historic building a lot of care and thought has been given to making the buildings accessible. There is a good deal of information available on the website to help with planning your visit. […]

Surrey Coalition of Disabled People’s comment following the government vote on the proposed Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Universal Credit. The concessions that were announced earlier this week and during the debate in parliament, stating that existing claimants of PIP and Universal credit would be unaffected by the proposals is absolutely the correct course of action. […]

Megan, our Involvement Officer, shares her supercar driving experience. Due to being registered Severely Sight Impaired (legally blind) alongside other medical conditions, I am unable to hold a driving license on medical grounds. The head injury which caused my disabilities happened when I was just 15 years old, so I never learned how to drive […]

Did you know that this week (12th – 18th May) is Mental Health Awareness Week? The theme this year is community and bringing people together. It’s so important that we all take the time to look after our mental health. As we mark Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re reminded of the importance of finding moments […]

Nikki, our CEO, attended an accessible transport policy roundtable discussion on the Bus Services Bill. The Bus Services Bill is currently going through the House of Lords and will soon reach the House of Commons to be debated by MPs. This roundtable, chaired by Baroness Grey Thompson gave organisations an opportunity to share their views […]

Yasmin, our Involvement Lead and four of our members met up in the Discovery Centre at Newlands Corner for ‘Woodland Word Walking’ as part of Surrey Hills Society’s the Growing Together Project. Previously Coalition members had attended events like bird spotting at Frensham Little Pond and had a tour of West Horsley Place, and come […]

The Access to Food scheme closed at the end of March 2025.   Since April 2024, the Coalition – in partnership with Good Company and funded by Surrey County Council – ran the Access to Food scheme. The scheme funded a taxi ride to Disabled applicants nearest food bank, or in exceptional circumstances, a supermarket voucher.   […]

Some of our Coalition members, Yasmin, our Involvement Lead and Nikki, our CEO, were invited to a service to commemorate eighty years since nine airmen lost their lives in a bomber crash in Reigate, Surrey. An American Air Force B-17G flying fortress bomber crashed during bad weather in Reigate while returning from a mission over […]

Our latest Wellbeing Get Together was a visit to The Watts gallery in Compton for a tour of the exhibition “Flower Fairies, the magical world of Cicley Mary Barker” as well as the main gallery. George Frederic Watts OM was one of the most successful British artists of the 19th century. He painted portraits, landscapes, […]

It’s been over two years since we started working with Treloar’s and we wanted to fill you in on the latest updates. As mentioned in our previous blogs we work with Treloar’s on internships with their students, and we’re delighted to have Is currently with us on the Communications Team at The Coalition. Is started […]

Information about Occupational Therapy Surrey CIC – www.occupationaltherapysurrey.co.uk We are a not-for-profit organisation driven by a powerful social mission: to make occupational therapy accessible to all. What sets us apart is our commitment to employing individuals with lived experience, merging their personal insights with professional expertise to deliver holistic and effective solutions. The concept of […]

Our Involvement Team have created a list of free Christmas events and lunches across Surrey over December. PDF version: Word version:

Following extensive engagement and consultation regarding changes to a section of London Road in Guildford, Cabinet Members at Surrey County Council have decided not to proceed with a major part of the scheme.  Residents and people who travel through the area were invited to give their views on a proposed new cycling and walking route […]

Despite Disabled people being substantially over-represented amongst people using food banks, there is little research into the accessibility of food banks. In May 2024, The Coalition contacted all Surrey’s providers of food banks with an accessibility checklist. 17 out of 39 (43%) food bank providers responded. The Coalition found: The Access to Food scheme provides funding […]

It’s Purple Tuesday, a day to raise awareness about the importance of businesses improving customer experience and accessibility for Disabled people. Did you know: Source: Hello can I help you and Purple Tuesday We have created a video about how you can make your store or business environment accessible for Disabled people. Coalition members have […]

In August 2024, The Coalition took part in Surrey Hills Society’s Growing Together session in Knowle Park, Cranleigh. Coalition members and staff got involved by identifying and responsibly picking wildflowers to make clay and flower pressings, and solar prints. Growing together is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, […]

Happy World Mental Health Day! Here at The Coalition we offer a range of different services including: Tech Angels, Get More Active Get Together sessions and The Independent Mental Health Network. We understand how important it is for Disabled people to get out and about in their community to improve their mental health and wellbeing. […]

The Coalition and Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey are launching a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of including an SMS contact detail and hearing loop at establishments. One in three adults in the UK are Deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.* In Surrey there’s an estimated 66,000 people who are digitally excluded […]

When asked what I do, I always hesitate, not sure how to describe what I do to someone who doesn’t understand the voluntary sector world. I’m not certain that anyone is any wiser once I’ve finished ‘explaining’, which is a little worrying because I have worked for The Coalition for 8 years! The difficulty is, putting […]

Jane is a visually impaired member and trustee of The Coalition. Below, she shares her experiences of mystery shopping with Research Institute for Disabled Consumers in Guildford. “I was asked to look at the accessibility of Guildford train station and how it can be improved. I took the 9.21AM train from Horley and arrived very […]

Disabled people, those living with long term health conditions or those travelling with luggage, children or bicycles can now benefit from step-free access at Walton-on-Thames station after Network Rail completed accessibility upgrades. This £6m programme of work began in September 2022 and has included a range of improvements including a new bridge, lifts and staircases, […]

Last weeks’ Glee Club theme was ‘Home is where the heart is’. Song picks were about houses, streets and towns. We played the following songs: Glee Club takes place online, on Zoom every Tuesday 4:00pm – 5:00pm. Each week we have a theme for the session, some members choose to perform their songs, whilst others […]

We reached out to Coalition members to ask for their feedback and experience on the accessibility at their local polling station and postal voting for the Local Elections ​in May and the General ​Election in July. This was because we have heard from some of our members that there’s been problems with accessibility at polling […]

Ever heard of forest bathing? If it’s conjuring up thoughts of bathing suits, then think again!  Our Coalition members and Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN) members were invited to take part in a forest bathing taster session at the very beautiful Newlands Corner.  This was arranged as part of the growing together project we are […]