50% of disabled people in the Midlands feel 'cut off'

Disabled people in the Midlands are being cut off from society according to one disability charity

Research commissioned by Sense shows that half (50%) of people with disabilities in the Midlands feel they face greater barriers than non-disabled people in making and sustaining friendships. While more than 1 in 5 (22%) say they feel lonely on a typical day.

Almost 1 in 5 (23%) people with disabilities also said that the Government's recent changes to welfare benefits and eligibility for social care have made it harder for them to make and sustain friendships.

Sense, which supports and campaigns for people who are deafblind, is launching a new campaign "We all need friends" to highlight how opportunities for friendship remain elusive for too many people with disabilities.

Janice Tillett, 42, lives in Northampton with her husband and seven year old daughter Mary-Elizabeth. She was born with a visual impairment which deteriorated and she then discovered she had a hearing impairment. Janice is now completely blind but is able to use bone anchor hearing aids to enable her to have some hearing.