Staff Profiles
I have been with Disability
Direct since 1994 and have great pride in having been part of the process
which saw it grow from strength to strength. My personal aim is to extend our
services to as many disabled people as possible and thus now look forward to
providing support to people in the county of Derbyshire as well as Derby city. We have a great team of staff at DD and I hope you will take advantage
of the wide range of support available from them.
To contact
me directly about DD please feel free to email me :
Martin Austin - Director of Policy and Development
I handle the day to day management of the organisation and am responsible for quality assurance and continued qualification to the various external quality marks which DD now holds.
A focus of my work at present is in developing the corporate services which we offer concerning professional organisations 'compliance' with the Disability Discrimination Act and a wealth of other services such as Access & Disability Audits and a range of training programmes.
If you have any questions or comments about our services please feel free to email me: martin@disabilitydirectderby.co.uk
Hello I’m Sally, and my job is to provide potential users with information and support prior to the social services assessment, in order to enable users to recognise their needs and thus allow the final assessment to be an accurate indicator of their needs.
I will also provide on-going support for users by assisting with completion of monitoring forms, recruitment and selection, disciplinary procedures, employers’ responsibilities etc. I will assist the service user until they are ready to manage their payment without my support.
Raj Gidda - Direct Payments Development Worker
My role is to develop and promote the Direct Payments Support Service to potential users. I am also the editor for the bi-monthly Direct Payments newsletter, The Independent. A copy (in pdf format) is available on the Direct Payments website. My role also involves providing on-going support as and when needed by advising on Employer Responsibilities, Recruiting and Selecting Personal Assistants, forming job descriptions, application packs and contracts and advising on disciplinary procedures etc
I can also converse in Punjabi, Hindu and Urdu for the benefit of people from the Asian communities who are unable to speak English.
Louise Parsons- Young Persons Independent Living Advisor
Hi, I’m Louise, my job is provide information, support and advice to young disabled people in Derby in order for them to reach their maximum level of independence.
I provide information on independent living. I work as part of the team at Disability Direct, and liaise with other organisations, in providing information and support on many issues that affect young people such as Direct Payments, the DDA, welfare rights, education and employment.
I also co ordinate a youth meeting that focuses on sharing issues that are important to young people and provides a time for socialising and planning social activities.
Helen Harrison - Walbrook Tenants Support Worker
Donna Brady - Welfare Rights Worker
I have been with Disability Direct since May 2004, initially my role was giving advice and helping service users to complete forms but now I also represent people through the judicial process at Appeals hearings.
My main duties include obtaining medical/supportive evidence, maintaining case files and presenting cases at tribunals and going to venues in the community to bring advice and to promote Welfare Rights services to people who may otherwise not be aware of benefits they may be eligible for and the help that is available to assist them. It's a fantastic job.
The most rewarding part of my job is when service users are awarded on appeal or when I am able to help sort out a benefit claim from initial advice, then form filling, through to payments being issued.
Kate Newbold - Payroll Officer
Hi, I’m Kate and I started here in October
2006, after completing my BA (Hons) Creative Expressive Therapies, which
included research into health and disability issues, working creatively with
individuals, groups and disadvantage, and understanding the healing properties
of the creative and expressive arts.
Hi, my name is Rachel and I'm the Disability
Discrimination Act advisor for employment at Disability Direct.
Mediated Assessment Support Worker (BEM)
