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Wirral woman's hard-hitting poster campaign against welfare cuts for disabled people




A WIRRAL woman is leading the fight to protect disabled people against Government welfare reforms.

Ina recently-launched campaign Kaliya Franklin from Hoylake has been photographed lying naked on a wintry beach unable to reach her wheelchair as part of the ‘Left out in the cold’ protest.

The 35-year-old who suffers from Ehler Danlos Syndrome features in the hard-hitting poster to make Government Ministers sit up and listen.

As co-founder of Broken of Britain, she wants to show how proposed reforms will affect the most severely disabled in society.

The organisation, which works to protect the welfare of the most vulnerable, is fighting against proposals such as the removal of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from adults living in residential care.

Kaliya said: “We have launched this campaign to grab people’s attention.

"The picture of me lying freezing cold with no clothes on and unable to reach my wheelchair represents how many disabled people will not have access to vital social care and support.

“We decided to use one thought provoking image to make our point.

"Sick and disabled people are often left voiceless in society, so we hoped using a single image might reflect this.”

Campaigners are also against the time limiting of Employment Support Allowance (ESA, previously Incapacity Benefit) to one year if they have a working partner.

The reforms, which are set to go to a committee reading in parliament, were brought in to prevent fraudulent claims and people taking advantage of the system.

However, Kaliya believes the cuts are affecting those who need the care the most.

Her condition means she has a severe lack of collagen in her body and as result has frequent dislocations in her joints.

Kaliya’s illness also causes problems with her stomach, bladder and even her larynx meaning she often has trouble speaking and breathing.

And she said the public need to think about how the reforms could affect them.

She said: “The public don’t realise that we are not just campaigning for currently disabled people but for everyone should they become ill.

“It’s vital we all remember we are just an accident or illness away from becoming disabled.

"Many people think if they do become disabled that the state will look after them.

“But the fact is that even under current provisions, disability benefits are not enough for disabled people to live on.

"If the Welfare Reform Bill is passed, the situation will become unimaginably worse.”

For further information, visit the "broken of Britain" website at the link below.

THE GLOBE

man that poster gives me the chills.

Not as much as it gave her the chills She's my friend. She is regularly published in the likes of the Guardian and the Independant etc. Cracking lass and totally off her head when you know her. She makes me proud to call her my friend

Well done Kaliya,lets hope the goverment takes notice.

Wirral woman leads online campaign against benefit reforms




A WIRRAL woman is leading an online campaign against Government disability benefit reforms.

Kaliya Franklin believes genuinely disabled people will be the hardest hit in the major shake-up.

Kaliya, who is leading the 'Left Out in the Cold' protest, is asking other disabled people to get in touch via Twitter to show how the cuts will affect them.

The campaign began on Monday - the same day that the coalition’s crackdown on sickness benefits begins with the first letters being sent out asking people to have their ‘fitness for work’ assessed.

The letter will be asking some of the 1.6m incapacity benefit claimants to submit to reassessments.

Kaliya, from Hoylake, wants genuine claimants to post how their individual condition would hinder them from carrying out an average day’s work.
So far, people have sent tweets such as “My MS makes me unreliable. Also gives me cognitive problems. Will you employ me?” and “Surely no employer will mind if my airways collapse in the workplace, right?”

Kaliya, who suffers from Ehler Danlos Syndrome, says today’s campaign is about more that telling people about their disabilities – it’s about giving a ‘human element’ to the reforms.

She said: "As a whole, the Left Out in the Cold project is going from strength to strength as more people realise how many these reforms will affect.

"The Twitter campaign is to get the message out there about how it is just not feasible for the genuinely sick and disabled to work a normal day. It is not that we do not want to work, I would love nothing more than to be able to get up and go out every morning to work, but I can't.

The new assessments are part of Government plans to reduce the number of long-term incapacity benefit claimants in a programme through to 2014.

Those deemed fit for work will be put on to Job Seekers’ Allowance and encouraged to look for work, while those judged as unable to work will be paid Employment Support Allowance and will not be expected to look for a job.

However, Kaliya believes the initiative will do little to deter fraudulent claims being made.

She said: "Of course, something needs to be done to tackle fraud within the system. But if people want to take advantage of it, they will find a way to carry on receiving money fraudulently.

"It is the genuinely disabled people who will be hit hardest because they might not be able to show fully to assessors why they cannot work.

"At the moment, it's the fear of not knowing what is going to happen. It is a very scary time."

To get involved with Kaliya's online campaign, send your tweet on www.twitter.com with hashtag #fitforwork.