Helen is voice for disabled people in £700,000 funds bid
A Dunblane woman is helping provide a voice for those with disabilities as locals vote to decide how £700,000 of public money is spent in their communities.
Local Access Panel member Helen McDougall (pictured) lives with a range of conditions, including ADHD and expressive receptive language disorder, which is a form of dyslexia.
The 52-year-old also carries a spinal injury from a horse riding accident.
But nothing has stopped her passion for getting involved in community projects, including Stirling Council’s participatory budgeting project, Your Stirling: You Decide.
“My aim is to make sure that disabled does not mean disadvantaged and that when ideas are coming forward, disabled people are included and not excluded,”she explained.
“If things like new play equipment for a park is approved as an idea, play equipment should include something for a disabled child, not just for ablebodied children so it is more inclusive.”
For the past two months, Helen has been volunteering as one of 24 budget delegates who have worked with Stirling Council officers to verify the 770-plus ideas submitted to the council as part of Your Stirling: You Decide.
A final list of 193 ideas has now been verified for the voting stage, and more than 3,100 votes have already been cast across the council ward areas.
Voting closes on Sunday, June 23, and the people behind the ideas hope to win their share of £700,000 of ring-fenced funding, split evenly across the seven electoral wards in Stirling.
Helen has been aiming to make sure the voice of the disabled community is heard throughout the process.
She said:“We’re having discussions about trying to get people to think differently, and if an idea does go forward then there is an aspect for disabled people in there.
“There have been discussions with people and some are already thinking inclusively. Some others have their ideas set but at least they’re willing to listen, which I find encouraging.
“Through the work of the Stirling Area Access Panel, we’re already involved in a lot of different things. This is an additional platform, but not our only platform.”
The former instructor for Riding for the Disabled said she continues to battle against stigma and misconception.
“People think of ADHD as a disorder but I see it as a gift,”she explained.“It helps you think outside the box and also makes you great at multi-tasking.
“My belief is: inclusion, as much as possible. You look at people for what they can do, not what they can’t. It’s about perception and how people think. I want to enable people to reach their full potential. This experience has put a face to the council and it has made it more human.
Voting is available online via the Stirling Council website and Stirling Council Libraries will be able to help residents without internet access.