New Year Goals: Friends of Enable reveal their hopes and ambitions for 2021

As we prepared to enter 2021, we spoke to friends of Enable and prominent voices in the disabled community about their hopes and ambitions around disability.

Caroline Coster
Quadruple amputee

I want to learn to sew again with artificial hands and return to my charity fundraising, visit the school I worked at and the hospital with our dog Duke as a therapy dog. I also hope to receive and learn to use my new hero arm from Open Bionics and to meet up with people again!

Katie Piper
Activist, author and presenter

Going into 2021 I want to make sure I remember the lessons I learned when quarantining with my family, specifically how pausing life can be so healing, and how challenges and conflict can pose an opportunity for personal growth.

Mirroring the changes we have all endured, my 2021 goals will not be a traditional list like ‘stop eating chocolate’, they will reflect my desire to learn from what has been and apply this to all life has yet to bring.

And naturally, as we move into a new year, we thank all of those who have helped us make it through – especially the NHS and all of the key workers, I salute you.

Mike Adams OBE
Purple

To make 2021 the year of the disabled customer through Purple Tuesday becoming bigger and better in supporting organisations to improve the quality of service to disabled people.

To encourage more organisations to see the economic and social benefits of disability inclusion, and to be doing something proactive with it (preferably with Purple).

To retain and maintain the good habits learned through the lockdowns and wider restrictions at both home and work. To become an even better dad to my four children and losing the ‘I’m too busy’ mantra.

Mat Fraser
Writer and actor

I would like the government to fund disabled peoples’ independent living, I make more work and get better as a writer. I also want to get a decent role in a major TV drama, for my mum to find more friends in Cheltenham, and that I’m kinder to people.

Jijo Das
Artist

I will always be happy and spread happiness: all my family and friends will always be smiling. I will get fully fit and stay healthy, then I can do photography projects. I will become fully flexible! I will research more about Disney and Marvel and experiment with new ideas: I am sure I will be an illustrator in Disney one day. I will explore colours and do a lot of acrylic painting, photoshop paintings, water colour, sketch new things, and practice voice-overs.

Jamie Brewer
Actress and model

It feels to me that we lost a whole year of face-to-face socialising with friends and making new friends. In 2021 I’m planning on, and excited to, physically go to all my activities including hula and taekwondo.

Looking forward to attending red carpet events/premieres for the projects I’m involve with that will hopefully be released this year, all with really awesome and talented actors.

I’m excited to start a few new projects this year that everyone will love! I’m hoping everyone’s 2021 is healthy, happy, and back to normal as we have missed so much.

George Robinson
Actor

I hope to build on the foundations that I have tried to lay during lockdown in my personal life and use that as a springboard to get myself out there more, explore and embrace the rough and ready part of life that I feel I have not tackled as much as I could have.

I also aim to keep using my platform to promote diversity and disability within the industry and fight for people struggling to get their voices heard.

We have seen recently that there is still some work to do in not only getting stories about disability told but getting these stories told authentically. I might do a skydive as well.

JJ Chalmers
Sports TV presenter

I’m hoping the Olympics and Paralympics happen so I can take up my position as a presenter at both events. This would be a dream come true. These spectacles mean so much to the world, after the tumultuous year we’ve had they will make a hugely welcome return. On a personal level – having spent time away from my family doing Strictly Come Dancing, I’m looking forward more than anything to spending time with them before, hopefully, heading to Tokyo in the summer.

Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre
Writers and directors

We are very much looking forward to 2021 especially as we will be working alongside George Webster (S.A.M/Mencap Ambassador) on the S.A.M feature film. We will also be running acting classes as part of our collaboration with actor Sam Retford.

Together we will launch The Collective Media Co that will have many unique classes and workshops that don’t separate actors with learning disabilities, as we have previously experienced.

There’s no reason why we should have separation in an acting workshop. Our ethos is inclusion.

Mencap’s goals for 2021

To mark the New Year, Mencap have shared goals from CEO Edel Harris, colleagues at Mencap, ambassadors and people supported by the charity with Enable.

 

What are your goals for 2021? Let us know on Twitter, @EnableMagazine