Fuelled by her passion to help make the world an easier place to live for disabled people and to share her experiences, Sue Musyoki joined our customer scrutiny group a couple of years ago and hasn’t looked back since.
InFocus is our volunteer scrutiny group where our residents feedback to us on our services for over 80,000 of its customers.
With the group now celebrating its fifth anniversary, we are proud to announce that InFocus now has over 50 residents involved.
Sue said: “I really wanted to get involved because I wanted to share my experiences as a disabled person and be involved in a group where you can have your voice heard… I think collectively together, we can make our voices heard.
“Why not get involved? You get to be with other likeminded people, where you can listen to what’s going on and you have the opportunity to make recommendations.
“Give it a try and attend a meeting to see what it’s like and see how you feel. It’s a very relaxed informal meeting. I’ve attended one online where I was in my pyjamas and dressing gown, having my breakfast,” she laughs.
“I’ve just enjoyed being involved with InFocus so much, listening to what’s been said and then making recommendations.
“To be able to share my experiences and for people to listen to me, and for people of authority to listen to me, it’s amazing.”
Seven years ago, Sue settled down in her first accessible home with her husband and fell in love with their flat.
She said: “I love this home because it's adapted for my needs… I just love it because this is the first property that I’ve moved into which is totally accessible.
“My home is a wheelchair accessible property. I have wide doors for my wheelchairs so I can easily go through the doors and the floor surface is ideal for my wheelchairs.
“The light switches and the plug sockets are both at the right angle for me.
“It’s just nice to be able to move around the rooms completely without having to think, ‘oh no, how am I going to open that window’ because I can’t reach it. It’s just so lovely to have everything at my level and an oven that I can use.”
With a home comfortable for her needs, Sue uses some of her time outside of her work schedule, to further influence change and promote inclusivity in society.
Sue uses her personal and work experience to help the south west become a more inclusive place for disabled people. Currently, she works for an Exeter-based charity which helps disabled and those in the deaf and sensory community.
As more of our residents have become involved, the volunteer scrutiny group has developed into three areas: friends of InFocus, service reviews and the policy and strategy and performance group.
Sue joins the Service Review Group once a week to review our services and is proud to give her feedback.
She said: “Just being involved and sharing my experiences and being able to share information with the other members of the group, that’s what I’ve been proud of.”
Click here to find out more about our InFocus group.