Eastlight and Purple announce disability summit for the housing sector
Eastlight Community Homes is co-leading a virtual summit to help improve the disability experience in the housing sector.
The 12,500-home housing association is partnering with disability organisation Purple to raise awareness of the challenges disabled residents and employees face.
They want to work with the sector to drive change by keeping the conversation alive and sharing best practice.
The “Housing Sector Summit: Driving Improvements for Disabled People in Housing” event will be held on Wednesday 6 October, from 12:30pm to 2pm.
Key speakers include Emma Palmer, chief executive of Eastlight, and Mike Adams, chief executive of Purple. Residents will discuss their lived experience and there will be a chance to ask questions and share learning.
Purple will be encouraging a broader commitment to change through support for Purple Tuesday – a high-profile national annual awareness-raising day on November 2, which brings together organisations of all sizes, and from all sectors, and aims to improve the customer experience for disabled people 365 days a year.
Emma Palmer, chief executive at Eastlight, said: “The virtual summit is a fantastic opportunity for Eastlight to build on its partnership with Purple for the benefit of housing providers, team members and residents across the country.
“Getting together virtually means that everybody who is interested in this subject is able to attend the summit and contribute to the discussion.
“We want to kickstart fresh conversations about disabilities, including hidden disabilities, and establish a lasting narrative with a broader audience that will lead to us working together to create a more diverse, inclusive environment for our employees and communities.”
Mike Adams, chief executive of Purple, said: “Disabled people have the right and need for accessible housing, and to work in inclusive workplaces.
"But we know that this is not always the case.
"We are therefore delighted to be working with Eastlight Community Homes as part of our Purple Tuesday initiative to really spotlight best practices and areas for improvements in the Housing sector so that that accessibility and disability inclusion becomes the norm”.
