Capability Scotland – Dundee and its Community

Background

In and around Dundee and any city for that matter, you often see people with disabilities being helped along in their wheelchairs or in mini-buses being taken on what look like trips to the cinema etc, but have you ever wondered who could be behind such good deeds?

One organisation responsible is non-profit Capability Scotland, and if you are like me you may not have known of their existence. However they wish to change this and try and raise awareness in the community, so that not only their services can reach more people in need, but also so information and education can be more available to the public.

You might be wondering why the public need this information, and the answer is simple. There is still a stigma even today surrounding the disabled, and too many people are ill informed, leaving them feeling awkward and unsure how to react when confronted with a disabled person. Whether this be an individual in the street or a prospective employer, it is imperative that we as a community know more about our disabled.

Capability Scotland makes it possible for service users to live in the community as independently as possible depending on an individual’s specific needs. Whether that means they are able to go to college, go to the shops, or simply carry out the house work, it is all to the benefit of the individual and the overall community. Therefore as a community we need to support them, and raising awareness so that we know how, is essential.

Event

On the 13th to the 15th of July Capability Scotland have an Art Project planned in the McManus Galleries. Here their service users will produce their own piece of art which will then be collectively displayed at Baxters Park on the 17th. Each individual piece of art will then combine together with 70 paintings in a collage to make an overall picture.

There will be much more than just this going on in Baxters Park however. The event will begin at 10am on the 17th July 2010 when the service users will be performing an inclusive music workshop, having practiced for weeks leading up to the big day. There will also be around 5 local bands attending, which are in some way connected to Capability Scotland, and they will be performing. To keep visitors entertained in between the bands setting up, some of the teenage service users will be showing off their DJ skills picked up from their weekly sessions at The Shore in Dundee, which is a state of the art young person’s venue.

Interactive workshops will include:

• Drumming
• Street Dancing
• Street Football
• Holistic Therapies etc

They are also expecting the army to attend as they have offered their support with fun activities such as assault courses.

Amongst all the fun there will be plenty of information on hand to find out more about Capability Scotland and the disabled they help, so please come along and support your community.