Equal Lives Celebrates 30 Years of Championing Disabled People

1 day ago

2 min read

[Image description: Graphic with a background pattern of clocks, hourglasses, and stopwatches in muted purple. In the foreground, purple text reads, 'Equal Lives Celebrates 30 Years of Championing Disabled People Across Norfolk and Suffolk’ on an orange background. At the bottom of the graphic is the Equal Lives logo and our 30^th anniversary logo. Equal Lives is written in blue text, with a tagline written in purple: Free from disabling barriers. There are 3 orange birds flying into the air above the writing.  The 30^th logo has a navy blue 30, with orange birds flying out of the zero. Beneath the number, red text reads ‘1996 2026’.

Founded in October 1996 under the name ‘Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People’, Equal Lives has spent the last 30 years providing advice, advocacy, and support while campaigning to remove barriers faced by Disabled people. Despite progress in disability rights, many of those barriers remain, making our work as important as ever.

Ben Reed, our CEO, who has been with the organisation for more than 15 years, said, 'We've seen a huge amount of change over the last 30 years, but Disabled people still face significant barriers, and too many decisions are driven by ignorance rather than people's rights and needs. That's why organisations like Equal Lives remain so important'.

Every year, Equal Lives supports Disabled people and their families to access benefits, social care, health services and independent living support, helping people gain greater choice, control and independence.

Ben Reed added, 'What I'm most proud of is the difference we make every day. Whether it's helping families get the support they need, ensuring people receive vital advice, or supporting Disabled people to have greater control over their own care, we see the impact of that work every day. As we celebrate 30 years, we're looking ahead to continuing that mission for many years to come'.

As the charity celebrates this milestone, Equal Lives would like to thank its staff, volunteers, trustees, members, and supporters who have contributed to its work over the past three decades.

You can support Equal Lives or find out more here: https://www.equallives.org.uk/.