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 workshop: This workshop acts as a space for adults with learning disabilities and their Carers to share their experiences of using services in East Surrey.  The Coalition will use the workshop’s findings to help the local health board, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, understand where services are working well and where they […]

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 […]

Cuts to welfare benefits has dominated the headlines this week. Although we don’t really know the full impact yet, we do know that this will impact lots of Disabled people, people living with long term health conditions and their families. We will do everything we can to support our community and campaign for a fairer […]

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, […]

Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of attending the Runnymede Civic Awards at Foxhills Manor. We nominated Jonathan Fisher for the Make a Difference Award and were really excited to hear that he had been shortlisted and invited to attend the awards evening. Many of you know Jonathan, he’s always very willing to help, he […]

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 […]

Trustee Role (Voluntary Role) – Closing date Friday 17th January 2025 Are you good at sticking to New Year’s resolutions? Or are we the only ones that can’t remember our resolution from last year! Do you want to make a real difference, not just for the first few weeks of January but for the future! […]

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 […]

We’re celebrating one of our wonderful members volunteering for the Police Independent Advisory Group for 15 years!! A massive thank you to you Jonathan. Jonathan tells his story about how he got involved below. It’s a great read of how Jonathan got involved, how volunteering has helped others and maybe a couple of stories that’ll […]

As you know we’re working with the lovely staff at the Surrey Wildlife Trust on the Nextdoor Nature project. The project aims to increase wildlife friendly areas in our community and workplaces.  A group of Coalition members, local residents and other charities that work from Astolat (where the Coalition main office is situated) got together […]

In May 2024, Alex visited the Trussell Trust’s food bank in Farnham. Alex works on the Access to Food scheme, and visiting places which provide different types of food support in Surrey to better understand food insecurity and its links to disability. Farnham Foodbank operates out of The Vineyard Centre on Fridays and Bethel Baptist […]

The smiling legend, Angie Taylor, is leaving The Coalition at the end of May. We held a little staff lunch to say a HUGE thank you for all of Angie’s’ hard work and dedication to The Coalition. Angie has been involved with Access All Areas visits, making sure that venues and the countryside are accessible […]

We’re working with the lovely staff at the Surrey Wildlife Trust on the Nextdoor Nature project. The project aims to increase wildlife friendly areas in our community and workplaces. We’re lucky enough that The Coalition offices that we share with many other charities and voluntary organisations in Surrey have been selected as one of the […]

The cost-of-living crisis is defined as “a term … to describe the effects of the rising cost of food and energy”, and Food Insecurity as “the limited or uncertain access to nutritious food”.  Last Year, the Coalition reported that 97% of members surveyed had been impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, 45% told us that they had […]

On Tuesday 16 April, Caroline, Heather and Alex from the Tech Angels team attended a digitalising social care event run by Surrey Heartlands, Surrey County Council and Surrey Care Association. This was an all-day event at Dorking Halls, with presentations and activities on the importance of digital services, AI and robotics in social care. In the […]

In February 2024, Alex, our Community Champion Co-ordinator & Technology Trainer presented at Inside Government’s training course on Enhancing Digital Skills and Inclusion. Inside Government provides the public sector policy-based and best practice-led training courses. Chaired by Professor Khawar Hameed from Digital Advantage, Alex shared how Tech Angels has reduced disabled people’s digital exclusion and feeling of loneliness. […]

At our last AGM in September 2023, we successfully obtained a majority of votes to become a charity. Behind the scenes we have been busy working and coordinating this change, and we’re delighted to announce that we are now officially a charity! Becoming a charity enables us to grow further and access more funding opportunities. […]

In March 2024, Coalition members Jonathan and Jean took part in a research project at UCL PEARL in Dagenham East. They were assisted by Yasmin and Alex. The research project is in partnership with Guide Dogs, and studies the impact of design trends that are on the increase within the built environment on people with […]

Ben, one of our Treloar’s students joined us in supporting the National Federation of the Blind UK to hand in our petition to Downing street. Here’s what he had to say: “On Tuesday 20th of February, I went to London to deliver a petition against Floating bus stops with Nikki from Surrey Coalition. It was a […]

What would you choose – Pop, Rock, Jazz, Soul or garage? It’s pretty well known that music is good for the soul! However, a new study from the University of Exeter has found that playing a musical instrument or singing in a choir is associated with better brain health in older age: Music and brain […]

Joe from Treloar’s school and college has been working within the Communications Team at the Coalition on an internship. Joe tells us about his internship experience and his time at the Coalition. What work have you been doing on your internship with The Coalition? At the Coalition, I have been assisting with their social media […]

Attia, our Outreach Officer, recently attended a cancer support group in Woking to chat with the community about The Coalition and our membership. Becoming a member of the Coalition includes access to a range of friendly virtual social events, campaigns and specialist interest groups. Attia spoke with members of the group about support in Surrey […]

The Coalition’s Chief Executive Officer, Nikki met with Saj Hussain, Chair of Surrey County Council. I had the pleasure of meeting with Saj Hussain, Chair of Surrey County Council. The Chair of the council presides over meetings of the County Council and acts as the principal spokesman for the Council on civic and ceremonial occasions. […]