andrew Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Next meeting is this coming Thursday at 7pm St McDiarmid Park. Lots to discuss and maybe s special silver guest (maybe)! Paul Smith may be able to attend and help address some of the issues from Saints' perspective. Hope to see as many as possible there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted September 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Keeping this near the top. If you're not interested, please ignore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Repeat post as the same applies to the next meeting, this Thursday at 7pm at McDiarmid Park.Next meeting is this coming Thursday at 7pm St McDiarmid Park. Lots to discuss and maybe a special silver guest (maybe, finally)! Paul Smith may be able to attend and help address some of the issues from Saints' perspective. Hope to see as many as possible there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted November 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2014 Next meeting is tomorrow at 7pm at McDiarmid Park. Hoping to begin to see issues being addressed now that the group is becoming established. Paul Smith is to be our guest. All welcome if disabled, personal assistant or involved with a relevant organisation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted April 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Tonight at 7pm at McDiarmid Park we have Tommy Wright as our guest. People with a disability, their personal assistants/carers, family members and those who work with disability are all welcome. We are doing some good work and making progress towards resolving many of the difficulties which people face in accessing matches at home or away. Jiangsu Sainty, Edstar101, sixties saintee and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jad Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Hi Andrew, was hoping to come up for tonight this but looking unlikely due to work. My question is around the issue of season tickets etc I am classified as disabled, have a PIP award letter, disabled rail card as proof. My understanding is that at present I can get admission to games at a cheaper rate plus a carer. What I would like to suggest is to see if Saints would consider a disabled season ticket at prices along the lines of over 65's. This is because I would still like to be able to chose where I sit in the main stand, there are times when I would not be well enough to attend but I would still like the club to have guaranteed money coming into them. Would this be a viable option for Saints/Disabled Supporters Association to consider? (Perhaps a joint type ticket if carer was to be admitted too.) Looking forward to hearing the outcome/news from tonight's meeting. sixties saintee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Hi Andrew, was hoping to come up for tonight this but looking unlikely due to work. My question is around the issue of season tickets etc I am classified as disabled, have a PIP award letter, disabled rail card as proof. My understanding is that at present I can get admission to games at a cheaper rate plus a carer. What I would like to suggest is to see if Saints would consider a disabled season ticket at prices along the lines of over 65's. This is because I would still like to be able to chose where I sit in the main stand, there are times when I would not be well enough to attend but I would still like the club to have guaranteed money coming into them. Would this be a viable option for Saints/Disabled Supporters Association to consider? (Perhaps a joint type ticket if carer was to be admitted too.) Looking forward to hearing the outcome/news from tonight's meeting. Hi Jad. What you are asking is already in place. If you call the club's ticket office on 01738 455000 and ask about season tickets for disabled supporters they will give you the details. The meeting went well last night. Tommy Wright answered questions and gave his views on a range of subjects and also stayed on to hear a summary of the issues and difficulties which disabled fans face when attending matches home or away, and how we have gone about resolving a number of them. Next month our guest will be Roddy Grant (last Thursday in May at 7pm). For example, at away matches, buses park anything up to half a mile or more from the ground depending upon where the stadium is in a particular town or city. Disabled and elderly fans are having to struggle to walk back to the bus and this is not acceptable. We raised the matter at national level (Scottish Disabled Supporters Association - scottishdsa.co.uk) and this led to a meeting last week with the Assistant Chief Constable in charge of operations for Police Scotland. He outlined a procedure whereby this issue could be resolved with a little advanced planning. It is something we hope to see in place for next season - not only for St Johnstone fans, but for travelling supporters of all clubs. At McDiarmid Park we are pleased that the club responded positively and quickly to requests for a ramp at the club shop and radar locks on disabled toilet doors. Other issues we have identified may take a little more time but the club have been very good and we have a positive relationship with them. This group gives disabled supporters a chance to be heard and removes the frustration of dealing with matters as individuals. Above all, we are providing information, which is often all that is required as a lot of people remain uninformed regarding disabled access at football matches, and experience unnecessary difficulty as a consequence. The SJDSA have a Facebook page - the St Johnstone Disabled Supporters Association. If you have any more questions please let me know. Saintdunc, uphallsaint, blueheaven and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aitchy Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Good on you Andrew and good on Saints for working closely with the group. Pat McGroin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOODLUM65 Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Good points Andrew. Know of folk who don't go to away games now due to the distance between the Stadium and the bus park. These are not necessarily disabled people, but people advanced in years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Good points Andrew. Know of folk who don't go to away games now due to the distance between the Stadium and the bus park. These are not necessarily disabled people, but people advanced in years. Exactly, hence both disabled and elderly mentioned in my long post. We live in supposedly modern, inclusive and progressive times, but do we?! Things take time but we have made good progress in the last nine months, with more to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixties saintee Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Hi Jad. What you are asking is already in place. If you call the club's ticket office on 01738 455000 and ask about season tickets for disabled supporters they will give you the details. The meeting went well last night. Tommy Wright answered questions and gave his views on a range of subjects and also stayed on to hear a summary of the issues and difficulties which disabled fans face when attending matches home or away, and how we have gone about resolving a number of them. Next month our guest will be Roddy Grant (last Thursday in May at 7pm). For example, at away matches, buses park anything up to half a mile or more from the ground depending upon where the stadium is in a particular town or city. Disabled and elderly fans are having to struggle to walk back to the bus and this is not acceptable. We raised the matter at national level (Scottish Disabled Supporters Association - scottishdsa.co.uk) and this led to a meeting last week with the Assistant Chief Constable in charge of operations for Police Scotland. He outlined a procedure whereby this issue could be resolved with a little advanced planning. It is something we hope to see in place for next season - not only for St Johnstone fans, but for travelling supporters of all clubs. At McDiarmid Park we are pleased that the club responded positively and quickly to requests for a ramp at the club shop and radar locks on disabled toilet doors. Other issues we have identified may take a little more time but the club have been very good and we have a positive relationship with them. This group gives disabled supporters a chance to be heard and removes the frustration of dealing with matters as individuals. Above all, we are providing information, which is often all that is required as a lot of people remain uninformed regarding disabled access at football matches, and experience unnecessary difficulty as a consequence. The SJDSA have a Facebook page - the St Johnstone Disabled Supporters Association. If you have any more questions please let me know. Thanks for the update Andrew very interesting, Will show my ignorance but what is a radar lock. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jad Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Thanks for all the info Andrew. Sounds like a very productive meeting. Totally agree about the distance for walking to/from stadiums /buses. Good to know that hopefully Saints Disabled Supporters are not only improving things for Saints fans but also other teams disabled/elderly supporters. I will be contacting the office about details of season ticket for disabled and will look forward to being able to go to games when I am fit enough and know that my money will be going up front to Saints to hopefully improve our squad. Many thanks again for your help and hopefully will get up to some of your future meetings, I have joined your Facebook page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the update Andrew very interesting, Will show my ignorance but what is a radar lock. Keep up the good work.Hi sixties. It's a specific universal lock for doors, usually toilets I think, which disabled people can get their own free key for from councils. Nationwide scheme. In our case it stops people smoking in the disabled toilets and allows wheelchair users access without having to wheel their chair (with their hands!) through urine on the floor. These things do happen! Edited May 1, 2015 by andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Thanks for all the info Andrew. Sounds like a very productive meeting. Totally agree about the distance for walking to/from stadiums /buses. Good to know that hopefully Saints Disabled Supporters are not only improving things for Saints fans but also other teams disabled/elderly supporters. I will be contacting the office about details of season ticket for disabled and will look forward to being able to go to games when I am fit enough and know that my money will be going up front to Saints to hopefully improve our squad. Many thanks again for your help and hopefully will get up to some of your future meetings, I have joined your Facebook page. That's good Jad. Maybe we will meet sometime. After May we have a break from meetings until August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixties saintee Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Hi sixties. It's a specific universal lock for doors, usually toilets I think, which disabled people can get their own free key for from councils. Nationwide scheme. In our case it stops people smoking in the disabled toilets and allows wheelchair users access without having to wheel their chair (with their hands!) through urine on the floor. These things do happen! Thanks for that Andrew got a few friends that are wheelchair bound will ask them about the key, will also discuss with my local Councillors / MP about the scheme and hopefully kept FREE of charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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