Money Advice Trust Money Advice Trust

In this episode, we tackle the Sunflower Lanyard scheme, a global initiative that helps people with hidden disabilities signal their need for support and understanding in public and workplace spaces. Talking with Paul White (Chief Executive), we look behind the green and yellow lanyard to uncover the scheme’s origin story, its lesser-known support offerings, and imminent digital evolution.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-white-61aabb56/
https://hdsunflower.com/uk/

This episode dives into the fascinating world of accessible numbers with Laura Parker, a ‘numbers’ specialist. Laura explains to Chris Fitch what accessible numbers are, how they affect everyone’s life (including her own experience of dyscalculia), and shares five tips for making numbers more accessible for everyone.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauramarieparker/

Kathryn Townsend, the out-going Government Disability and Access Ambassador for Banking, asks the question we’ve all asked ourselves at some point: have I actually made things better here?  

In a personal and frank conversation, Kathryn reflects on the extent to which she has reformed the banking sector for disabled customers, the obstacles and conflicts she has encountered in doing this, and how to make progress in a role which has been both celebrated and criticised for its potential to bring about change.

You can find out more about Kathryn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynjanetownsend/

What happens when ‘good intentions’ create ‘bad design’? In this 20 minute episode, the internationally renowned writer Liz Jackson talks about how well-meaning attempts to design innovative products and services for disabled people often end in practical failure, and outlines 5 ways to distinguish ‘good’ from ‘bad’ disability designs.
You can find out more about Liz and her work at https://linktr.ee/eejackson | @elizejackson | https://www.linkedin.com/in/eejackson/

In the UK, we send around 110 million texts every day. In today’s episode, Victoria Hornby (Chief Executive of Shout, the UK’s only 24/7 text service for anyone struggling to cope) talks with Chris Fitch about text-based conversations and crisis, how Shout works, and what essential services can learn from Shout’s strategies for managing crisis conversations on a digital channel.

You can find out more about Shout at www.giveusashout.org. Or if you are struggling to cope and need to talk, you can speak to a trained Shout Volunteer by texting the word ‘Shout’ to 85258.

In this 20 minute episode, we examine what it is like to work on ‘vulnerable consumer’ issues for a living, while personally experiencing vulnerability, harm, and difficulty at the same time. Sharing their thoughts, experiences, and advice with Chris Fitch on “being vulnerable, while working in vulnerability” are Makedah Simpson (UK Regulators’ Network) and Rosie Lyon (Vulnerability Specialist at AIB).

Makedah Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makedahsimpson/

Rosie Lyon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosie-sarah-lyon/