PIP Journal- An Update

Dear Reader,

Hello!  I hope this finds you well.  I just wanted to give you a quick update on the PIP Journal as it has been a while and a few of you have asked me about this and where it has got to. To give some context, I wanted to do the best job with this I could, albeit on a budget of zero and a limited amount of time!  To that end, it was really important to me to have a draft of the journal put through its paces.

In order to do that, I reached out to a few of the great people I know to get a range of feedback, from the more technical to the views of those who this journal is aimed at.  It was really important to me to get a range of viewpoints so that the design of this journal could be as inclusive and as useful as it could be.  Though I cannot name the individuals at this stage (with their permission I will later!) I have feedback from:

• Two disability experts
• A disability focus group
• A housing association and a range of staff

I’m pleased to say that the feedback was very positive and also reassuring across the board.  The people who I sent this to also made a range of suggestions and observations about improvements which will be incorporated into the revised draft which will be ready for release soon.

My next step will be to work on a draft for general publication as a working draft, which will have a more general consultation window.  This consultation window is designed for people who are using the journal to be able to give feedback on how they have found it and to suggest improvements.  I’m really keen that this is a journal that should be designed with disabled people at its heart, and their needs at the forefront.

I am also trying to write the journal in a style which combats the worst parts of the form. The below is an example of this in relation to toilet needs:

My hope is that through injecting some warmth into the journal it will make the form in particular a little more accessible and address what I think is one of the hidden barriers in the process in the way in which information like this is asked to be disclosed. 

Finally, a thanks, for your patience, interest and good will!  What this endeavour lacks in resources it is more than made up for the abundance of encouragement I’ve received, and I hope that by working together we can come up with an end product that will make a positive difference.

If you would like a copy of the journal to be emailed to you when it is released, please complete the following form:

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