Leicester campaign

Leicester mum’s campaign for Changing Places toilets

A mum from Leicester whose son needs to use a Changing Places toilet has been campaigning for Changing Places facilities to be installed at key venues in the city.

Julie, mum to Toby aged 8 who has severe and multiple learning disabilities, has grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of any public Changing Places toilets in Leicester that meet the needs of her family and many others like them in the city.

"It's so frustrating when places say they are accessible, but then when you arrive the facilities don’t even come close to meeting our needs", says Julie, who carries an aerobics mat so that she can change Toby on a toilet floor if there is no alternative. "When we visited the Changing Places toilet at Centre MK I decided it was time to campaign for similar facilities in Leicester."

So what action has Julie taken?

"I did some local press work to raise awareness of the need for Changing Places toilets in Leicester," explains Julie. "Toby and I visited the Shires shopping centre in Leicester with a journalist from BBC Radio Leicester, and showed her why the facilities provided were unsuitable for us. This was a great way of getting our targets to take notice of what we had to say.’"

Mencap also sent out a press release about Julie which was picked up by the local newspaper and regional television news programme, and Julie was invited to do interviews with them too.

Julie has taken time to develop a good relationship with some local councillors and council officers who are enthusiastic about the campaign, and has persuaded them to lend her their support. She has also written to MPs asking for their support for the campaign, and has spoken to local parents to find out about the demand for Changing Places toilets in the city.

And her efforts are starting to prove successful.

"The Shires shopping centre are now considering plans to include a Changing Places toilet in its redevelopment – something they were previously unwilling to do," enthuses Julie. Along with others involved in consultation work around inclusion, Julie has also been successful in getting a Changing Places toilet included in the plans for the new development of an arts and cultural complex within the city. Contacts are also being developed with other venues who have expressed an interest in the campaign, including a concert venue and the 'Building Schools for the Future' initiative locally.

Julie is also campaigning for an inclusive play facility, suitable for all, to be installed in Leicester. She wants a Changing Places toilet to be built as part of this facility so that families with children with profound/severe and multiple learning disabilities can enjoy a day out, just like other families.

Julie believes, "The key to successful campaigning is to target the problem from a number of different angles and to raise the profile of the campaign with a wide range of people and organisations – with the hope that they will all start to work towards a solution that benefits society for the future."

If you would like to contact Julie, please email changingplaces@mencap.org.uk