By Shaelyn Stout and Priscille Panzu
Holloway residents as well as local disability service organizations are saying that Council cuts are having a negative impact on the borough’s most vulnerable residents.
Islington Council’s 2019-20 budget proposals mention a 70 percent budget cut from Central Government since 2010.
Andy Greene, the manager and spokesperson of Disability Action in Islington, said the cuts have “reduced services, increased eviction rates and caused debt” for disabled residents across the borough.
Though Islington Council promised to make the area “fairer for all” in regards to large funding cuts, it is allocating growth funds primarily to Street Homelessness and EU Settlement Employee Reimbursement Scheme.
Far from fair
Greene says Islington budget proposals are far from fair, and actually cause discrimination against disabled people, noting “Islington has the highest recorded disability hate crime rates in all of London.”
One disabled resident of Holloway, Scot Smith, 83, says he has “been on work pension for years” and that he believes more help from the council’s disability services would improve his standard of living.
According to Greene, when residents hear how much local funding is invested in people with disabilities, they tend to “blame disabled people for being work shy,” or taking advantage of disability services.
An American resident of Holloway, Emily Stegner, 24, says “the cuts are unfair” and though she cannot vote, would like to see changes made.
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