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August 29, 2017
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has provided his backing to a local charity who is campaigning to see an end to disability hate crime.
I Am Me was set-up in Renfrewshire in 2012, and since then has grown significantly to help tackle disability hate crime. Their work to raise awareness of prejudiced based attitudes and behaviours has seen them recently develop an app which provides help to those vulnerable individuals who are facing discrimination.
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said:
“It was a great pleasure to meet with Carol and Debbie from I Am Me Scotland to learn about their fantastic work to tackle disability hate crime. This is a relatively new charity and I’m amazed at how far they’ve come in short space of time.
“62,000 hate crimes are committed against disabled people each year in the UK and the overwhelming majority of this goes unreported. This is a serious problem and we need inspiring and innovative work like what is carried out by the team at I Am Me Scotland.
“Their Keep Safe app – which has been supported by Renfrewshire Council, Police Scotland and others – will provide assistance to those disabled individuals who are requiring a safe space.
“It’s important that we continue to support charities like I Am Me to ensure that we can live in a society where the most vulnerable are free from abuse.”
Carol Burt, Project Manager at I Am Me Scotland, said:
“Disability Hate Crime remains one of the most under reported crimes in the UK and we are working with disabled people, young people and the wider community to raise awareness of the impact that incidents can have and the importance of reporting.
“Keep Safe is an award winning partnership with Police Scotland that works directly with businesses and community groups to create a network of ‘Keep Safe’ places for people to seek support if they are lost, scared, vulnerable or they have been a victim of crime. The Keep Safe Scotland app can be downloaded free from iOS and Android.
