STOP PRESS Great news... DISH has survived... read all about it here » Disability Information Service for Hertfordshire Tel  0800 181 067    10am - 3pm, Mon - Fri STOP PRESS Great news... DISH has survived... read all about it here »  home   info line   FAQs   magazines   links  Good News! From the Chairman Dear Readers, First, thank you to all our generous readers who sent donations to the magazines appeal fund. We have received a total of just under £2,000 which enabled us to keep going and has greatly influenced the outcome of negotiations with two other disability charities. We have a lifeline! Our trustees have agreed to incorporate as Disability Hertfordshire Limited (DISH, the registered charity, will remain intact) and to contract with Disability Essex Limited who will make a significant investment in our services. As founder members of Disability East, a network of disability charities of many shapes and sizes throughout the eastern region, we have worked with colleagues at Disability Essex for the past three years and are confident that this is a good move for disabled people in Hertfordshire. UPDATE will continue as a free-to-individuals magazine during 2007 but there will be some changes. Editorial copy will be managed by Create Design whose name and flair will already be familiar to our more observant readers. A fresh approach to advertising and commercial sponsorship will become evident; without additional income the magazine will be unviable. The future of JIGSAW magazine, however, is less certain. We are in the process of bidding for funds to secure its future. If this is unsuccessful we shall have to decide early in 2007 whether to charge a subscription - and thereby lose a percentage of readers who we know cannot afford to pay to receive such a vital publication - or cease publication altogether. As far as the telephone helpline is concerned, the good news is that the service will continue uninterrupted. We have reached an agreement with a disability charity in Stevenage to operate from part of their offices. When you call us on the FREEPHONE number 0800 181 067 you will be greeted by the same familiar voices of our Information Manager Suzanne (see below) and volunteer Patrick (who liked us so much he stayed and has become a trustee). There may be a short period of minor disruption during December and early January - we shall be moving out of our St Albans office at the end of November and re-locating in Stevenage early in January. However, the telephone helpline will be operating as normal and all postal and e-mail enquiries will be dealt with as at present. Finally, a perspective on our survival plans and the new HCC disability information service set up to compete with DISH, a small well-established and well-run independent charity with eighteen years expertise and experience. The county council operation - with a significant financial investment paid for out of local taxes - was set up with no prior consultation and, therefore, without the consent of the service users. At the risk of stating the obvious it also fails the test of independence since many issues are germane to its own services and employees. So much for the government exhorting local authorities to devolve statutory responsibilities to the voluntary sector, and so much for the county council's hypocritical charity compact which talks the talk but fails abysmally to walk the walk. Yours sincerely, Robert Hill Chairman, DISH 27 November 2006 E-mail  info@dish.uk.net Minicom  01727 852998    Fax  01727 845480 DISH, 45 Grosvenor Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3AW Reg. Charity 1035673      Design by Hi-Tech      Admin