[Busman747]

Last week I remember making a purchase at a corner shop and indicating to the shop keeper to put the change into the charity box. On these occasions I rarely look at the charity concerned but after reading a very recent report on "Scope" one of our biggest charities, I surely will now!

Formerly called "The Spastics society" Scope has been doing marvellous work since 1952 helping in particular, sufferers of cerebral palsy and has many residential homes throughout the U.K, where many with C.P. are given independence but are still under the care of staff as one of the symptoms is short term memory loss and without help, drugs that should be taken are forgotten.

In the seventies, many were "deinstitutionalised" and were put back into society with the result that there were a string of killings and in particular the murder of Jonathan Zito by mentally ill Christopher Clunis in 1992. All these murders were committed by patients that "forgot" to complete their course of prescribed drugs.

As of this year, Scope has an operating deficit of £5million and a gaping £15million "black hole" in its pension sceme. As one of the largest and well known charities with hundreds of charity shops run largely by volunteers and with special dispensations from the various councils they SHOULD be making a worthwhile profit...........so what has gone wrong???

Two years ago, a new chief executive was appointed. His name is Mr. Tony Manwaring, ex labour fund-raiser and he is paid in excess of £100.000-00 per year for his expertise. Since his appointment, the number of executives being paid OVER £40.000-00 has jumped by over 50%..........

This explains why the charity is now running at a loss, but what to do about it?? with all that well paid gray matter perusing the problem, the solution is easy!!

Scope has decided to stop providing residential care and become a "campaigning organisation." The result is that their intention is to close down 50 residential homes and put the onus on local councils and social services to find homes and look after more than 500 disabled people.

One of the first "victims" is Damon McCarthy who has lived in one of the charities flats for 8 years. He has been told that he will have to leave, despite being partly paralysed, brain damaged and without short-term memory since a car crash in 1989. He is likely to be left at the mercy of social services in Cardiff who have already made it clear that they have no suitable accomodation for him.

Scopes official justification for its shift in policy....that it wants handicapped people to "lead fulfilling lives" in the community and that being in special care is "disempowering" them has been derided by the families of those affected as "politically correct jargon." They add that the real motivation for the inhumane policy is simply to cut costs.

Damons dwellings in Cardiff is described as an "assisted living, development" which caters for 11 serverely handicapped people, other targets for closure are "Trengweath" a school for disabled children in Plymouth and "Newton Lane" a "daily living service" in Chester.

Mr. Les Unwin who is Scopes honorary treasurer breezily announced last year that ANY facility that did not bring in a healthy profit would be axed.....

He added: "It is not a charities role to fund services that should be fully funded by a government body. Scope cannot afford to deliver all the services needed by disabled people from cradle to grave. It (Scope) will be campaigning more but its service provision in bricks and mortar will be less unless it can truly run these services at a sustainable surplus. However, its services will be a model for best practise and its campagning for equality for disabled people will be changing the world"

..............Scope splashed out more than £800.000-00 last year updating its London Headquarters............

To return to Damons plight, after his accident, he was hospitalised for TWO YEARS! He then went home to his divorced mother Anne for 5 years. She was eventually forced to turn to Social Services because she could no longer cope with his medical needs. He was placed in Cyncoed Flats and has been happy ever since.

Anne says: " Scope is hiding behind an idealology that disabled people need the chance to live in the community, and no one would argue with that! but people that have been in these flats for 40 years can't just be pushed around" she added: "Many of them have no voice of their own. Because of their disability, they often can't express themselves articulately. Some are very angry. but others are terrified and deeply distressed. It is not only the decision to close the flats - its the uncaring way in which it was done. Scope is not behaving like a charity, Its action is inhumane and is devastating these peoples lives.....A cynical deplorable situation is being dressed up with politically correct jargon."

Brian Byfield has lived in the same flats for 26 years and has been offered a new home..............100 miles away in Milton Keynes

Brian, who is severely physically disabled says: "I don't want to move there, my friends are here. We don't understand why we have to move".................simple Brian, so the fat cats get fatter!!!!!!!!

Ooh, I forgot to mention, one of the "patrons" of Scope is non other than "Cherry" Blair! as fruity and rotten as they come, and of course she refuses to make a statement about Scope!!

So next time you are in a newsagents and want to give your change to charity, make sure you are donating to a GOOD cause and not paying the wages of a total ar**hole!!!!!!!!