The mark of a decent society is how it treats those with disadvantages and illnesses and I do my bit to encourage government and voluntary organisations to play a positive role. And many are doing a grand job.
I recently visited the Blaydon Co-operative Food Store to find out about their charity of the year activities, and to encourage shoppers to take the free Hearing Check which had been organised with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID).
The Co-operative aims to raise more than £2 million in 2009 for RNID. The local shop aimed to raise £1800 but has already raised £3,000.
The Co-op and the RNID have come together to encourage Blaydon shoppers to value their hearing health by taking a free five-minute Hearing Check, which helps identify whether people have a hearing loss.
Many people don't realise how vital their hearing is in everyday situations until they start to lose it. RNID estimates that as many as one in seven of us has a hearing loss.
The RNID told me that it can take someone up to 15 years to deal with their hearing loss, and in that time, a person's quality of life can be greatly reduced as they suffer unnecessary isolation from friends, family and their community.
You can check your hearing now by calling 0844 800 3838 or visiting www.rnid.org.uk/123 for the free on-line hearing check. Calls to RNID's telephone hearing check from a BT landline cost up to 5p per minute.
I'm also pleased to have been able to back a campaign to stop adults with autism being written-off by the employment and benefits system and am supporting a cross-party Commons motion on the issue.
The National Autistic Society has released a shocking report which shows that a third of people with this condition currently live without a job and without benefits and that many rely on family and friends.
But they have much to offer and many want to work but are unable to get help and support. It is important that people with serious, lifelong and disabling conditions such as autism get the help they need when seeking employment and are supported financially when they cannot work. They shouldn't be written off as both they and society as a whole loses out.
There has been progress on this. The Autism Bill, the first disability-specific law in the UK, today recently received its Third Reading in the Lords and could make a real difference.
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
| Promoted by Paul Foy on behalf of Dave Anderson, both of St Cuthbert's Church Hall, Shibdon Road, Blaydon, NE21 5PT |