Volunteering - BME Older Disabled

Bridging The Gaps is an ALL WALES project. Bridging the Gaps project has been funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and administered by WCVA. The main objective of the project is to develop volunteering among BME older disabled/long term ill people. Such volunteers will be trained and developed to support their host organisations. Host organisations will also receive support from BTG for their capacity building needs e.g. training, signposting to funding sources and other support.

BTG project is overseen by the Scope Cymru director Suzanne Jones. Swati Sharples is the Bridging the Gaps Project Manager in all Wales covering North, South and Mid- Wales. Sion Williams is a project coordinator and administrator in South Wales.

BTG volunteers will support their host organisation/community group in reaching out to, and working with, older disabled/long term ill people from BME communities. BTG also focuses on sharing skills and experiences across generations. Both the Welsh Assembly Government and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation identified the importance for intergenerational activities and more volunteering opportunities for BME communities through working with BME groups.

The project also runs workshops, training and seminars around volunteering and other capacity building of their engaging organisations. Intergenerational events will be organised in south and north Wales, to widen the community participation, and to promote disability equality for BME.

The problems faced by BME disabled people before the project

Following consultations with small disability groups, Scope Cymru has identified the need for this project because the existing volunteer opportunities for BME older disabled/long term ill people within the mainstream voluntary sector has always been very limited due to organisations not having the capacity to provide safe and supporting volunteering opportunities and other barriers e.g. social attitudes among BME communities towards disability/long term illness leading to disability, and the fear of obligation to integrate with wider social networks. This leads to Isolation, it has a negative impact upon self-esteem and confidence of BME older disabled person, and it hinders them from sharing their skills with wider community.

What the BTG project has done to address and improve it

As a national disability organisation with a vision that disabled people achieve equality, we want to tackle the isolation of older disabled people from BME communities.

In 2007-2010, BTG project has recruited 15 key BME older disabled/ long term ill volunteers, and engaged them with 15 different organisations. BTG aims to recruit 5 more older, disabled/long term ill BME volunteers in Wales, to reach the objective of supporting 20 volunteers and their 20 host organisations in total.


BTG in North Wales will be reaching out to as many BME older disabled people through the intergenerational and inclusive events to promote disability equlity for all. BTG is committed to support residing BME communities with its equality agenda for disability.


Bridging the Gaps
Scope Cymru
The Wharf
Schooner Way
Cardiff
Cf10 4EU
Tel: 02920 662 430
 bridgingthegaps@scopecymru.org.uk