Our Stories:
Meet Kath

“I’ve been at DIAL for almost 30 years. April Fool’s Day next year is my 30th anniversary! I’ve seen a lot of wonderful people over the time, sadly some of them no longer with us. I was fortunate to work with Martha who founded DIAL and hopefully we’re carrying on in her fine tradition of disability rights. She was an ardent campaigner.  

We lost all our core funding back in 2017 because of austerity measures within the local authority and budget pressures on statutory services. We went from being relatively well-funded, one of the largest DIALs in the country, to having hardly any resources, but we did have people power. All the staff were made redundant, but a few of us were committed to seeing DIAL continue and Mike and myself have been on that journey ever since. And I do have to say that, had not been for the support of Leeds Community Foundation through our darkest days, our hour of need, I don’t think we would have had that momentum to be where we are now. 

We’re just at the end of a two-year project, Peer Power. Some of the people here were food bank users at the start of that, two years ago, and are not now. We’ve made those links for people to have a sustainable income. It’s taken the whole of the two years to achieve that for some people and for others it’s still ongoing. There are massive delays in benefits. A new claim might take up to six months now before it’s fully finalised. And if you’re doing a review, I’ve heard that it’s been 12 months, 18 months. I mean, we’ve got some people coming up almost a year that we’ve spent in review. 

I think Peer Power has been a really strong project because everyone has been facing their own challenges, different challenges, but when they come together to offer peer support, it makes all that difference.” 

DIAL Leeds is a disabled people’s user-led organisation. They offer a variety of services and support to adults with a range of disabilities and additional needs in Leeds. They’ve received a number of grants from Leeds Community Foundation, including for a mental health peer support empowerment project. 

If you want to play your part in supporting brilliant local Community Organisations like DIAL Leeds, learn how you can support us, or reach out at info@leedscf.org.uk.