ot: UK citizens, pls read

[Guest guest]

calling for interested parties in the UK. Please forward to anyone about to be

reassessed for benefits, or if you know someone with Chronic Fatigue, ME, Lyme,

Fibromyalgia or other debilitating conditions. Also, for the Silent Witness

side, to anyone interested in social justice, health issues, or a journalist or

any other person who might be able to help, pls forward. thx. Liora

UK Disability Benefits Reassessment 'Silent Witness' Project

As the UK Government announces its programme to move more people off disability

benefits and encourage them into work (/4 April 2011/), <www.MEFreeForAll.org>

has written to invite anyone, including journalists, who believes that the Work

Capability Assessment (WCA) test is a valid and reliable way of assessing ill

people for work, especially those with unpredictable, randomly fluctuating and

often invisible symptoms, such as M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) sufferers,

to follow the whole process, decide for themselves whether it is fair and to

check that no one who is genuinely ill will suffer. They will have the

opportunity to follow a claimant from the moment the letter drops on the

doormat to the final outcome. We think this is the fairest way and will produce

quite a difference in public awareness, than relying on press releases from and

spokespeople for, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

To make this project effective, we are, therefore, looking for people in every

part of the UK*, who are due for a review of Incapacity Benefit (IB) or

Disability Living Allowance (DLA), to volunteer to have someone such as a:

local or national journalist; any independent witness; friend or relative;

welfare rights lawyer, or Citizens Advice Bureau worker; maybe even their MP to

follow them every step of the process and accompany them -- to sit in silence

and observe -- to any medical assessment or appeal. They may make a written

account or sound recording if agreed.

If you have any concerns about volunteering, anonymity of both name and photo

can be guaranteed (unless, of course, you prefer to be identified) and any

extra effort involved in writing to journalists, MPs and government ministers

can be shouldered by our willing volunteers. We can also arrange a " buddy " for

you, who has been through it all before (You might get me!).

Our aim is to provide evidence to every one of the 650 MPs in the House of

Commons and get some really objective reporting in the press and broadcast

media.

Please don't leave it to others -- who may be doing the same -- and regret it

afterwards, when you are struggling on lower rates of benefits, left without

any money at all pending appeal, in debt, despair and being forced into

inappropriate work, which is likely to make you ill and send you round the

carousel again.

Please e-mail me, drjohngreensmith@..., today or as soon as

possible, with " Silent witness " Project in the subject line. It would be

helpful if you would give a date (if you already have one) for your assessment,

or alert us the same day you receive your letter; the area where you live;

local newspaper(s) and MP.

I can assure you that any discomfort or stress that volunteering for this

Project will be far less than going it alone and you are much more likely to

get a favourable outcome for yourself and others.

Since the degree of success of this " Silent witness " project really does depend

on the collective willingness to volunteer and support volunteers and is the

biggest we have ever undertaken, we welcome as much help from willing

individual volunteers and the support of other local and national groups

representing people with M.E. E-mail me today, with the sort of help you can

offer: Claimant volunteer; buddy, administrator, publicist, area co-ordinator,

willing gopher (go for this, go for that) .. or whatever you can offer to help.

Please be patient for replies. We depend totally on volunteers, who are not

always very well themselves.

* We are distributing details of this project worldwide for general information

and as a comparison with the systems in other countries.

Best wishes

Email: drjohngreensmith{AT}mefreeforall.org

Dr H Greensmith

Website: <www.MEFreeForAll.org>