WEBVTT - Blind and low vision New Zealanders face rising costs and daily barriers 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:05.920 Kiyota. 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:09.119 I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:16.520 daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald. There are 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:20.840 huge inequities facing at least one hundred and eighty three 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:25.040 thousand New Zealanders and not much as being done about it. 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:29.840 New data from Blind, Low Vision and Z reveals how blind, deaf, 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:34.240 blind and low vision New Zealanders face not only higher costs, 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:39.720 but also the emotional strain of barriers most kiwis never encounter. 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:43.400 Stats and Z figures show that fifty eight percent of 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.840 disabled New Zealanders earn thirty thousand dollars or less a year, 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:50.080 compared with thirty three. 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:51.880 Percent of non disabled people. 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.600 So what does government need to do to make sure 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.480 this community doesn't keep falling through the cracks? Today on 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.720 the front Age, Blind, Low Vision and Z Community and 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:06.600 Inclusion General Manager Dan Shepherd is with us to speak 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.000 about his own lived experience and. 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:10.199 How we might be able to help. 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:17.679 So, Dan, everyone is struggling with the cost of living 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.280 crisis at the moment, But how are these financial pressures 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:25.440 compounded for those who are blind, deaf, blind or low vision. 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.319 Yeah, I think in terms of the cost of being 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:32.800 blind deaf, blind, or low vision. There there is more 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.600 than just the financial cost of being a disabled person. 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.400 There is the emotional cost, the cost on your time, 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.800 the cost on your energy. When the barriers are in 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.520 front of you, when you just want to make choices 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:47.880 to live your life. 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:49.680 What are some of those barriers? 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:53.440 Can you give me an example of perhaps something that 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:55.040 we might take for granted. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.400 Yeah, absolutely, Well, Look, I like to use the example 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.320 of something as simple and every day is getting your 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:05.960 groceries for somebody who's blind or somebody who's low vision 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:10.480 like me, it takes time to prepare yourself for a 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.359 trip to the supermarket. I've got to get Isra my 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.920 guide dog ready, I need to book my taxi. I 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.560 need to count count on the fact that the taxi 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:21.280 that comes to pick us up is going to want 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:24.120 him in their car and not drive away like some 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:27.440 ubers or taxis can do. Then you get to the supermarket, 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:30.040 and as somebody with low vision, you're going to need 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:32.799 some support to find the things you need. So you're 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:37.239 counting on awareness and support from others to get your groceries. 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.120 And then you've got to do all the things, and 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:41.960 that's process and reverse to. 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:45.200 Get home gosh, and I see that blind low vision 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:49.200 and Z has reported that clients are skipping GP appointments 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:51.600 because travel is becoming unaffordable. 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:54.960 What kind of financial help does the community get at 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:56.880 the moment and is it good enough? 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.680 Yea. So there is some support and play place from 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.560 schemes like the total Mobility scheme whereby there is subsidized 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:10.400 public transport or taxi travel. But again again that that 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.240 cost that comes into it is the time it takes 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:16.880 to then book your taxi, to wait for your taxi 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:19.280 hope that they will give you access to their car 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:22.160 to get you where you need to be. 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:26.240 So there are some drivers that will simply just drive 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:30.320 away if they see your dog with this absolutely. 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:34.680 Yeah, look absolutely. As a guide dog user, myself, Ezra 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:38.720 and I, we have had instances where we can clear 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:42.880 an entire taxi rank of drivers because the drivers don't 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:43.880 want the dog in their car. 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.280 And could it be as simple as changing the rules 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:51.440 as to you know, being able to say you have 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:53.960 to accept somebody no matter what their circumstance. 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:59.760 Yeah, look, and there is legislation that supports Ezra's access 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:04.280 as a guide dog as a service animal. We are 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:08.320 faced with the challenge of driver behavior. Really, that's what 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:12.160 it comes down to in terms of a driver's individual 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:17.680 view of a dog and look, as an empowered client, 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:20.400 I will stand there and I will cause a scene. 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:26.880 I will quote legislation around his rights. But the excuses 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:29.400 you get back can sometimes be quite laughable. 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.400 God, what are some of the excuses? 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:37.279 Oh? Look, coming back to the supermarket scenario, I was 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:42.320 outside a popular Auckland supermarket one afternoon, needed a ride 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:47.600 back to my hotel. At that stage, standing there with Ezra, 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.320 a driver gets out of his car. I said, can 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:54.200 you take us to our hotel please? And he said, oh, no, 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.520 dog's in my taxi And I said, yes, dogs and 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:01.000 your taxi you're acquired by or to let my service 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:04.359 animal in your car. Oh no, no, my company doesn't 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.680 do that. He said, well, I know your company does 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:09.760 do that, and I'm aware of the fines and the 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.640 standdown period from work that you'll incur if you don't 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.960 let us in your car. So then the then the 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:19.479 excuses start coming. Oh I'm sorry, sir, but my car 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:22.440 is too small for your dog. And I said, well, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.080 I've got all this other stuff to take with me 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.320 as well. Perhaps I could leave my dog and my 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.080 other stuff, but outside the supermarket and you could just 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.840 take me to my hotel. He said, no, no, no, 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.919 you don't understand. My car is too old for your dog. 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.320 And at that stage, I've got a bunch of customers 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.640 watching me outside this particular supermarket who are there for 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.680 the show. And I looked at him. I said, the 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:51.479 only thing that's old here is your attitude. Are you 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:53.520 going to take me to the hotel? And he drove 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:54.520 off without a passenger. 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:56.880 Wow, I mean deez. 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:01.359 And that's just one example of how something so small 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:06.240 can inconvenience your day and then your life. I see 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.800 that there are also reports of clients delaying treatment because 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:14.280 forms or health information isn't available in formats that they 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:14.880 can read. 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:17.599 Have you encountered anything like that? 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:23.400 Yeah? And I think in all these scenarios, we as 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:26.960 a community where our clients are making decisions not to 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:30.680 attend GP appointments because when you get there, you're going 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.760 to be handed a piece of a four with twelve 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.360 point font on it saying can you fill this? Can 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.680 you sit down over there and fill this out please? 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:45.120 It's access to an accessible way of filling out the 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:49.960 form would make it so much easier. It's expecting those 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.440 sorts of barriers to be put in front of you 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:55.000 when you leave your home. That is leaving so many 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.800 of our clients not leaving their home and making the 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.960 decision to not be overwhelmed by those sorts of barriers. 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:04.760 Tell me about the community and the challenges that they 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:06.080 face in the workplace. 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:10.760 Yeah, I think there are barriers in terms of seeking employment, 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.680 in terms of the accessibility of recruitment processes and the 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:19.320 attitudes towards towards people with disabilities or in our case, 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:23.920 people with low vision or who are blind. If you 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:27.320 can access or get through a recruitment process, you then 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.240 have to go through the process of disclosing your disability, 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:32.680 and that can scare a lot of employers off in 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.920 terms of this belief that this person is going to 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:38.560 cost me more than a non disabled person. 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:49.280 People with disability fees so much challenges when you look 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:51.840 for a drop fit, and foremost to have a social 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:56.360 stickmak because a lot of our people have a misunderstanding 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.720 about what people with disability can do, to focus on 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.440 what they can't do instead of focusing what they can do. 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:06.600 The second thing is the employment of recruitment framework needs 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:10.160 to change in New Zealand, asking questions like you know, 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.280 do you have a disability and what are your medication? 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.200 That itself is actually a rope bluff and the LOTO 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:18.920 in four years will actually cut off the candidate simply 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.679 because they have a disability. 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:28.120 I see that one in six New Zealanders identify as disabled, 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:33.480 sixty percent are unemployed or underemployed for blind, low vision 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:37.560 and Z clients, fifty one percent of working age members 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.520 are without a job, and seventy four percent of youth 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:44.480 clients have never had a part time or summer job. 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:48.400 Now that's to me, the right of passage. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.080 Is to you know, get a summer job or something 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.840 during high school or UNI or something like that. I mean, 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.160 how can we make this happen as a community, as 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.080 a society to make sure these kids are getting those 0:08:59.160 --> 0:08:59.920 kind of experience. 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.520 And I think that does come into that awareness piece. 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:06.480 If you are an employer or if you have an 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:10.559 opportunity for somebody to volunteer with you, that you're making 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:16.040 those opportunities available to everybody be inclusive, because those volunteering 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.800 opportunities that you pick up as a young person that 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.439 can turn into part time work, they turn into aspiration, 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.440 and they turn into careers moving down that person's journey. 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:29.240 And obviously we've spoken about the financial pressures and a 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:31.800 little bit about that emotional toll, but tell me more 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:32.319 about that. 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:34.360 Because the thought of people just. 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.840 Not wanting to leave their homes because it is simply 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:44.040 just too difficult to exist, that's really not good. 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.680 No, look, it really isn't. And it does come down 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:53.200 to I guess, our communities seeing seeing the barriers that 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.839 they're putting in front of blind, deaf, blind and low 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.840 vision people, and those people are members of their community 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.000 as well. We should be able to access our communities 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:05.480 without barriers. It was only this morning on our walk 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:08.600 into work that I had to stop at four different 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:12.079 sites to have a conversation with a with a construction 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:15.000 company or a tradesman who had parked their van or 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:19.480 their car over the footpath. Now, for that person, it's 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:22.079 not an inconvenience. Somebody should be able to walk around 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:25.160 their car. But for a blind person who's using a 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.680 guide dog, my guide dog has to be able to 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:33.000 find me safely around that vehicle, and you know, it 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:37.280 compromises our safety. So that leads me to think, well, tomorrow, 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.160 do I just work from home or do I need 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:42.400 to have those conversations again tomorrow morning. 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:43.719 Yeah? 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:45.880 And I mean, I guess do you think that there's 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.440 a feeling of, oh, it doesn't affect me. And like 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:50.960 you said with that tradesperson as well, he hasn't obviously 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:53.920 hasn't even thought about how it may affect somebody with 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.599 low vision or someone who's blind or deafblind. Do you 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:01.120 think it's because of that, because it's affects a small 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:03.679 part of the population. 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:09.640 Yeah, absolutely. I mean in the vision loss community, we 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:12.640 have a funny saying that vision loss is the disability 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:17.560 that nobody sees. And for one, you don't see it 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:20.360 because we're not out in community, because we are making 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:24.360 choices not to include ourselves or to not to participate 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.679 in our communities because of the barriers. But you know, 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.240 disability is one of those things that if it's not 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:35.160 in your immediate circle, it doesn't exist to you. It exists. 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:38.439 Disability exists to all of us, and it's in our communities. 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:39.440 We need to be aware of it. 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:41.719 Well. And the fact here, I've got some numbers here. 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:45.120 The census data shows that the number of people reporting 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:49.080 no or limited site that affects daily activities has risen 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:53.120 by about eight percent since twenty eighteen, from just over 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:55.959 one hundred and sixty nine thousand to nearly one hundred 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:58.880 and eighty three thousand and twenty twenty three. 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:02.080 So this means there's actually a rise in demand for 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:03.239 support services. 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:08.320 Hey, is anything being done alongside this increase? 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:12.120 Yeah? I think as an organization Blind at Blindlow Vision, 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:16.920 we are seeking to ensure we have the resource available 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:21.000 to meet demand. We're in an aging population and vision 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:25.360 loss is a disability that you acquire with as you age. 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:30.040 So months like Blindlow Vision Month are so important because 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:32.880 so much of what we are able to do comes 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:34.360 from the donations of the public. 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:39.080 Well, isn't it about eighty percent of the organization's income 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:40.960 comes from donations. 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:43.760 Wouldn't it be good to get more government support? 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:47.480 Look were at Blindlow Vision, We would love more government 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.800 support because we are dealing with what is becoming an 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.199 aging population and that one hundred and eighty thousand is 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:58.120 set to grow over the next ten years. More government 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.560 support is great, but you know, the generous donations of 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:04.760 the public also really supports us to be able to 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.840 help people to make their own choices and live in 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:09.280 their communities the way they want. 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:13.160 If you could change something tomorrow, whether it be big 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:16.000 or small, what would you do first? 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.720 I think I think the easy the first thing to 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:26.600 change is attitude towards disability. When we are aware as 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:31.040 a society that people with disabilities are accessing and participating 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:34.120 in our communities. So many of the barriers are so 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:38.720 easy to remove the people they don't come at a 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.959 cost to remove. It's easy for a tradesman to park 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.640 their van on the side of the side of the 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.920 road rather than over a driveway, and for their inconvenience, 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:53.240 that's only three extra steps to their van. So I 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:57.480 think awareness and changing attitudes is a good first step 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.160 towards a barrier free New Zealand. 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:02.160 Why don't you think it's happened yet? 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.480 Look, I think I think we are on a journey 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.839 in organizations like blind, low vision like ours, we need 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.800 to do a better job of getting in front of 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:17.880 our communities and there is some responsibility on ourselves, as blind, deaf, 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:22.280 blind and low vision people to seek that inclusion and participation. 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.680 Are there any workplaces or companies that are doing a 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:27.320 good job. 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.000 Yeah? Look, there are plenty of workplaces that are doing 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:32.320 a good job, but a lot that could do a 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.400 better job, and a lot that need to start that journey. 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:38.880 So at Blind Low Vision, we're we're here to support 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:39.840 that journey as well. 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:41.520 Thanks for joining us, Dan. 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.280 Hey, you very welcome. Thanks for your time. 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.680 That's it for this episode of the Front Page. You 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:53.600 can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:57.720 at nzadherld dot co dot nz. The Front Page is 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.200 produced by Jane Ye and Richard Martin, who is also 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.880 our editor. I'm Chelsea Daniels. Subscribe to the Front Page 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:09.560 on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts, and tune 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.600 in tomorrow for another look behind the headlines.