Shops are put through their paces (From Dudley News)

Shops are put through their paces

11:10am Wednesday 26th September 2012 in News

YOUNG members of a Dudley disability group made a training video for retailers after recording their experiences of shopping at Merry Hill.

Dudley Ambassadors Club, at Woodside Community Centre, have launched a campaign called ‘Talk to me, don’t ignore me!’ about the positive and negative experiences the wheelchair users faced.

The group, who are aged from 12 to early 20s, visited 15 shops as mystery shoppers before scoring and recording their findings on camera. They then met with a representative from the centre’s management and talked through their findings.

The club, which is part of Whizz-Kidz – the charity which provides children and young people with mobility equipment – showcased their work to Dudley South MP Chris Kelly.

Mr Kelly watched their film and answered questions about his role as an MP and how he could represent their views locally and in Parliament.

Chris Kelly MP said: “It was brilliant to meet such an inspirational group of young people who are working so hard to challenge misconceptions about disability. I really enjoyed the exchange and did my best to provide some useful ideas on how to boost the profile of the.”

The youngsters now plan to create stickers and certificates to give to shops which are easy for wheelchair users to use and to write to those they visited with ideas about how they can do better.

To see the group’s campaign video click here.