What do these words mean to you?
We ask because these are the values of Living 4 Moments. These values have been chosen because of personal and professional experiences of occasions and or venues that have denied them to me and to others. Living 4 Moments strives to change the persistent culture of paternalism and risk aversion. In addition, we strive to remove barriers that employers inadvertently erect to potential employees and customers.
Our work is through training, coaching, consultancy and talks. Our expertise and experiences on accessibility has opened up many opportunities for individuals in all walks of life and in a variety of settings.
We listen and empower individuals to make meaningful choices that matter to them. We explore how empowering customers can be done more consistently through our understanding and application of legislation that is there for us all. We have coached customers with disabilities to participate more fully in work and leisure by exploring the barriers and how to overcome them. We have supported employers too in recruiting committed employees with hidden/visible disabilities and helped them gain new customers by having a more diverse workforce.
My personal experiences of living with a profound hearing loss has opened up my eyes to barriers others face in the workplace and places of leisure. Here is an example;
In many public places from shops, restaurants, bars, sports halls etc there is often a backdrop of music being played. This in some places is played constantly and at loud volume. This is not only challenging for someone with a hearing loss, but also negatively impacts on individuals living with autism and /or dementia. The sensory overload makes the experience unpleasant resulting in potential loss of employees/customers. Nor is it good enough to have the music turned off just once a week as this does not provide choice for customers to get what they have come for when they need it. Everyone should be able to have a choice of a quiet venue all the time. Currently we are often denied this by being given one slot a week with no music or at best every morning for one hour. What if that person works at hours incompatible with these times? The same with the cinema: why are captions only offered during daytime and during working days? This is very limited and reduces choice which erodes the person’s independence and wellbeing. And businesses lose potential customers.
Society as a whole needs to be much better at meeting the needs of different people with whatever disability they live with whether visible or invisible. We at Living 4 Moments are on a journey of learning by listening and empowering customers with disabilities to find solutions that work for them. We don’t know it all but together we search for and find innovative solutions that help customers to live their lives more fully with choice and independence which improves their wellbeing.
Get in touch with us whether you are an employer, employee or customer who wants to maximise choice for everyone. We can do it together improving business outcomes with happier and more loyal employees and customers.
Leave a Reply