Remi Returns! How She Raised £7K to Buy Power-Assisted Wheels

We welcome back friend of the show, Remi!

She tells us all about the Be:Loved night, we catch up on how everyone’s doing, and we hear Carol’s Talking Tale.

Remi also shares her struggle to get power-assisted wheels — proving once again that if you want something done properly, you’ve sometimes you’ve got to do it yourself!

You can find info on the Be:Loved event Remi mentioned here.

You can find Remi's YouTube channel here.

Project Managers: Andrea Rai & Phil Powell.

Editor: Phil Powell

Project Managers: Andrea Rai & Phil Powell
Editor: Phil Powell

Huge thanks to the National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund for supporting our Dis-labled podcast. Learn more about their amazing work: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

All enquiries: podcast@communityfocus.co.uk
Website: https://www.communityfocus.co.uk/

Theme Music: Rastko Rasic & the students of Community FocusOther Music: Jazzy Frenchy by ⁠⁠⁠Benjamin Tissot

Transcript

Phillip R 0:07

Community focus. Communicate focus. We're here for you. I want a view. At five o'clock. Your book done.

SPEAKER_10 0:23

A weekend with you. We're here for you. Yay! Hooray! Hooray!

unknown 0:34

Hooray!

Jonathan 0:41

Community Focus is an art centre for children and adults with disabilities. We are based in the borough of Barnet, North London, and offer a selection of creative and well-being activities for all ages. Carl Jonathan Remy and Aminia.

Gila 1:14

We welcome back Final Fashion Remy. She tells us all about the bee last night. We touched up on how it's everyone's doing and we hate our talking titles. When we also start a struggle to get empowered to do with that proofing once again that if you want something done, probably you've sometimes got to do it yourself.

Phillip R 1:52

Flipping it, look who's just turned up.

SPEAKER_05 1:58

Remy, Remy, how you doing? I'm alright, how are you guys?

Jonathan 2:01

Yeah, thank you, Mel and all the better for seeing you. So you're our special guest this week. How do you feel about that?

SPEAKER_05 2:07

Very special. That's a good one, isn't it?

Jonathan 2:12

Yeah, that's a good one. What have you been up to since we last?

SPEAKER_05 2:15

What have I been up to? What have I been up to? I've been up to Badminton. I've played Badminton with a mental health uh mixture of disabilities. What else I've been in went to East London to see my friends in East London and just rehearsing at home and singing and then seeing my friend Yvonne because we've got a YouTube channel. Oh yeah, and that's it, we've got a be love event. My friend is a pastor, he's a priest, and he's a DJ that's on the decks basically. So, what it is, if you don't want to come, it's on Be Loved and it's in Mill Hill, and it's for every Sunday from 6 30 to 8 pm. And it's got gospel, house music. He's trying to look for if anybody's interested, new any more DJs who likes DJing, any MCs, any dancers, and it's for it's a safe space for people with mental health disabilities. Anyone can come, it's just a safe space if you don't want to go to a nightclub. No one is staring at you, you just dance how you want to dance, it's really good fun. And you've got laser lights as well, laser guns as well, which is really good as well. Got t-shirts we promote promote. He's quite um a hip-hop sort of guy, sort of priest. You don't really hear that of a priest on a DJ. He took a um, he actually is his event, but what he wants to do, he usually goes to where is it now? Ministry of sounds, sort of. So that's he's always been like that, basically. Yeah, he's quite uh uh alright guy. He's supported me a lot. It's for all different age groups. If you want to sit down, if you're elderly, young, old, it doesn't matter. You've got chairs to sit down, you don't have to dance, you can sit down or what, and it's in Mill Hill in um near Sacred Health, Sacred Heart Church, Hartley Hall. Yeah, Hartley Hall, Mill Hill. Hello, Gilla. How was your week?

Gila 4:09

Hello Amy, my week was brilliant. I got a new um chair um that helps me come up and down and I can lay back and do long sitting and I got one of those.

SPEAKER_05 4:26

Is it a recliner? It's like a recliner, isn't it?

unknown 4:28

Yeah.

Gila 4:29

Um and it's really useful. Um so I got that yesterday. It's really comfortable. Um and I've been rocking. Rock was okay. I mostly w wash outside. Um but yeah, all good.

SPEAKER_05 4:56

So Jonathan, how's your week been?

Jonathan 4:59

Uh well I've got my I've got my nerd group tomorrow as I normally do.

SPEAKER_04 5:06

What group? Oh yeah, yeah.

Jonathan 5:09

Yeah, I go I go I go to a nerd group every couple of weeks. And a few other things are hopefully lined up for the future. But I don't know how they're gonna go until they've happened, so you know, don't know much to report till then.

SPEAKER_05 5:26

Alright, Phil, what have you been up to?

Phillip R 5:28

Well, I've been busy lately. I went to my I went out on Monday night to the the food cabin edgeware, flash musicals. But the we I can't can't have it anymore 'cause of the of the funding. And on Wednesday I went to the um shit um festival in New Barnett.

SPEAKER_05 5:53

Was that festival free?

Phillip R 5:55

Uh first up no it it was a but uh open we have a m open mic at the Builders Arms in in New Barnett. Yeah, I think there's a once a month, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:04

Yeah, yeah, there's a step to go up there because I was there last time and it was a nuisance because I couldn't go to the toilets and it was a step to go up there.

Andrea 6:12

It says here, open mic from 8pm. Bring your instrument, your voice, and your best vibe. Yeah, whether you're seasoned, whether you're a seasoned performer or just a fancy again.

SPEAKER_05 6:23

Yeah. So you've been busy busy.

Andrea 6:26

I've been very busy, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:28

Carol, what have you been up to, Gil? Uh have you been using your magic heartpit lately, Carol?

Carol 6:38

Um I went to the multiverse in space. Oh and I saw other versions of myself.

SPEAKER_04 6:48

Oh, other versions.

SPEAKER_05 6:51

When you mean other versions of yourself, like how, what does that mean?

Carol 6:55

Like, you know how there's people believe that there's other dimensions in space. Yeah. And with like the Milky Way and all that other stuff, there might be other versions of yourself. Like um, there might be crazy Carol. Crazy Carol. Um confident Carol. Confident Carol? Shy Carol, angry Carol.

SPEAKER_05 7:23

Who knows? It makes you what one would you class you as?

Carol 7:28

Um Creative Carol.

SPEAKER_05 7:31

So basically the magic carpet, what's that about?

Carol 7:38

So basically the magic carpet has a new power now. The magic carpet can go to space and uh teleport to other universes in space and meet other versions of people and worlds.

SPEAKER_05 7:57

So Emy, what have you been up to, mate?

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Tom Jones music, Tom Jones.

SPEAKER_05 8:03

Oh, you've been listening to Tom Jones?

SPEAKER_11 8:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 8:06

What other music do you like?

SPEAKER_11 8:08

Get Garibara.

SPEAKER_05 8:10

What what's your best music? Garibolo.

unknown 8:13

Oh, Garibalo. Oh.

SPEAKER_05 8:16

Was it the real Tom Jones or the fake one? The fake one, yes. Oh, the fake.

SPEAKER_04 8:20

Is there fake Tom Jones?

SPEAKER_11 8:22

I see the TV, yes.

SPEAKER_05 8:24

Oh, so it's it's uh uh um someone pretending to be Tom Jones. Baba, you've been on holiday, where you been?

SPEAKER_02 8:35

I went to Claton on Sea.

unknown 8:37

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_04 8:39

Who did you go with? Uh I went by myself.

SPEAKER_05 8:42

Oh, wicked.

SPEAKER_04 8:45

What was the weather like?

SPEAKER_05 8:46

What did you do there?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

I I just it was uh it was good, yeah, it was I saw the beach. It was quite good.

SPEAKER_05 8:54

Was there loads of people? Was it busy?

SPEAKER_02 8:59

It was nice beaches and rides and fun fairs as it was.

SPEAKER_04 9:02

Yeah, fish and chips and that. Yeah, fish and chips.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

About 11 pounds for fish and chips in Clapton.

SPEAKER_04 9:07

That's a rip-off, isn't it? Yeah, candy flast. Was it worth the worth the money though?

SPEAKER_02 9:12

No. Not really.

SPEAKER_05 9:14

I think they do it on purpose because they know that you're going there, so they bump up the prices. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

And you have to pay for the pictures as all in the fair with your credit card.

SPEAKER_04 9:23

You have to pay for the what?

SPEAKER_02 9:25

Picture. Pictures. Pictures. To for the rides, you know, you have to take a picture out of it? Yeah. Yeah, six pounds. Six pounds. Too much money, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:35

What rides did you go to? What's the what I'm I'm I love the rides, even though I can't go and like it.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

The water splash.

unknown 9:43

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

It's very nice, you got like a cinema arcade.

SPEAKER_04 9:46

What's the water slide? You won't dance water slides.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

No, it's like we we it's like a water ride.

SPEAKER_04 9:50

And you got a water splash splash of water. Yeah. Oh wink.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

It was quite good, yeah. It's got like a cinema arcade as well. Oh, like a for the family to uh to watch the films on the in the arcades. You have to pay like a fiver to look at a cinema thing.

SPEAKER_05 10:11

Everybody's been busy, busy, busy, busy, busy.

Andrea 10:15

Can I just ask one question to Phil? You know the thing that he went to on the Monday, he said, what was it? And it's run out of funding, you can't go no more. What is that?

Phillip R 10:23

I go to a food hub in in Edworth. And Yeah, and um we ran out we ran out The Council didn't give uh enough money for for us all, you know. For the food hub, you know. So last week, last Monday was the was the last one. I mean it for me, it is it is somewhere to go during the day, do you know what I mean? And and to meet pe and to meet people as well, you know.

SPEAKER_05 10:54

Do they give you free meals then aren't they?

Phillip R 10:55

Yeah, they do they do, they do, yeah. All different things, because they they they um cook up the the ladies and gentlemen uh cook up there, you know? Yeah, hot mills, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:08

I never heard of that either, man. That's interesting.

Phillip R 11:10

It's in Edgeware. Flash musical is an A and Road. Ahnean Road in Edgeware.

SPEAKER_05 11:16

It's not no musical, did you say musical? Flash musical, yeah. That flash musical there.

Phillip R 11:21

Yeah, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_05 11:22

Oh in there, is it in there? Yes, um, yeah, yeah.

Phillip R 11:27

So that's what I'm gonna next term.

SPEAKER_03 11:36

Talking Tales is a group of creative storytelling students from community focused, sharing them monologues, poems, stories, songs, and characters.

Andrea 11:58

And today in Talking Tales we've got Carol talking about a character called Henry, also known as Alex, who pretends he's homeless but really he's a billionaire.

Carol 12:07

Life is always the same. People play it like a game, rushing around, trying to figure it all out, but I'm stuck in the middle, trying to find a better version of myself. I'm tired of living a wealthy life. People use me for my money and abuse me out of my own despite. People control me like a puppet, only seeing me as a muppet. So I decided to change, becoming a person of a new name. People looked at me like I was insane. I walked down the street, feeling the eyes on my poorly dressed disguise. The stairs became glares, but I didn't care. I once felt low in my miserable s house. Now I know the truth in this unspoken world. We all know the lies of this unwelcoming surprise. The walls kept it hidden. Now my inner peace is released. I feel a surge of new energy, finally free to be someone I'm meant to be. What was inspirational beyond this, Carol? About like society in general, how people treat you and how people see you as a person and see how much money you a ha have and see how poor you are and they there's like there's always like judgments and stares because people are gonna judge you wherever you go. And I think this my poem's like kind of reflecting on what I on what I made up.

Andrea 13:42

Do you think Henry will go back to his rich life again?

Carol 13:46

Well, we're not I'm not sure entirely if he will, but I think he's for now he's just testing it out and yeah, what do you want people who listen to this, what do you want them to think about when they hear your poem? I I want I want them to see that filters versus reality filter like reality is like real life and filters are like something like from an uh people can hide behind. Yeah, yeah. What inspired you to decide and get a powered wheelchair?

SPEAKER_05 14:31

Yeah, the reason why is because everybody says why don't you get an electric wheelchair, electric wheelchair? But they won't give you an electric wheelchair because you've got a manual wheelchair, and the electric wheelchair you can't put in a car, basically. If you want to go in your friend's car, you can't go in a you can't just lift the electric wheelchair and put it in a car. So I thought, oh done is it, let me get power-assisted wheels because you can use it as well. Sometimes you don't have to always use the power assist, you can use it manually, so you've got a choice of using it manually, or you've got a choice of putting the power on and uh being a power assisted, and you can take the wheels off and fold the wheelchair and put it in the car with electric wheelchair, it's not as simple as that. You can't just put an electric wheelchair, it's not foldable electric wheelchair, you can't just put electric wheels in a car. So that's the reason why I wanted to get these power. And I've always seen someone before I've seen a lot of people with power assisted wheels, and I thought, Oh, I wouldn't mind getting that, and it would help me. And and I'm thinking about in the future as well. Basically, I'm getting older now. Usually, when I was younger, I can maneuver up hills and stuff like that, but I'm struggling a lot. So now these power assisted wheels are sort of um uh helping me get up hills or go a bit further distances.

Gila 15:44

Rami, did it hold you back from going to places without your new reels?

SPEAKER_05 15:50

Well, it made things more difficult for me to um manoeuvre up hills and stuff like that, so I wouldn't go up hills, but now I've got these power assisted wheels, they're gonna make it so much easier for me to go up hills and go longer distances.

Carol 16:11

What benefits do you get now that you have an electric wheelchair?

SPEAKER_05 16:17

Well, it's not the electric, so as electric wheelchair is uh is power-assisted wheels because you've got two types of um electrics. Um you've got an electric wheelchair where you you just press the button and it just takes you over there. But these wheels are power-assisted wheels, so basically, you've got the wheel, you've got the power in the wheels, the batteries in the wheels. So the aim is is to when you maneuver the wheelchair, the power comes with you, so you don't have to put a lot of pressure on the wheels. It's like it's like it's it's like uh how can I explain? You're pushing it and it's pushing you, it you don't have to put so much power, so you're pushing it and it pushes you with you, basically. So it's more it's less less um stress on your arms, so it's like you're yeah, it's like it's like they that's why they call power assisted wheels. So it like say you're struggling up a hill and you haven't got the energy to all that strength to push up, it's gonna assist you more to get up the hills and to go a bit further.

Gila 17:29

How much did Ferrils cost for you?

SPEAKER_05 17:34

They cost £7,000, which is quite a bit, and I think the reason why they're so expensive is because the the way it's made, the wheels, the power is in the wheels, and the battery is actually in it the actual wheel, so it's both, and it's the way it's designed as well. When you've got to charge it up um with a with a magnetic charger, the way to charge it up is like the way it's designed is you've got the magnetic wheel magnetic wires to put on the wheels and then it charges it up. So um I don't know why they're so expensive. I think it's just the way it's designed. Yeah, all the way it's made as well. Yeah.

Phillip R 18:17

When you charge the wheelchair, is there a slot like a phone that you can charge the wire in it like a magnetic magnetic um like a magnetic triangle thing? Yeah, I know what you mean.

SPEAKER_05 18:34

Yeah, so basically it's uh a power pack comes with it, and you've got the wires. Um there's a button where you press on the on on each of the wires, so you charge it from you put the wire on one wheel um and it's a magnetic um it just connects by mag magnetic field and you just connect it on the wheel and then you connect it on the other wheel and then it starts charging like that.

Phillip R 19:00

Wow, so it starts charging.

SPEAKER_05 19:02

So how do you know when the wheels are charged?

Phillip R 19:04

Does the wires tell you?

SPEAKER_05 19:06

Right, so basically, no, the wires don't tell you. Um it in on the wheel it's got four uh L I D L LED lights. So the LED lights, I think it's got one, two, three, four, five LED lights. So basically, if it's fully charged, all the five lights will come up, and then if it goes down, they'll start going down one by one. That's how it is, and that's on each on each wheel, basically.

Phillip R 19:33

Was it a shock when you found out how much it was gonna cost?

SPEAKER_05 19:38

Yes, it was quite a shock because I I thought, how comes so expensive? Why so expensive? And I thought, how the hell am I going to um raise all this money? So I set up a GoFundMe account um to see if I could get help and I post did posters, I tried to spread the word, towed friends, um, tried to um put it on social media as well, try and advertise on social media a lot. Um I tried to give the um posters out when I was busking as well, because I busk with my friend and I was trying to see if they could um why not because I'm singing I was singing outside Edward Tube Station outside Edgeware Tube Station and I was busking with my mate and I put posters there out as well, so um to spread the word round really and I made I actually raised 800 pounds so that wasn't too bad, but I was still far off. So that was through just spreading the word, doing posters. What else did I do? Uh put it on social media, word by mouth, telling people to spread the word, giving out posters.

Phillip R 20:52

How did people react when you asked them for money?

SPEAKER_05 20:57

Uh some people I don't know how they reacted. Some said they'll they'll donate, but they didn't, some did, but to be fair, quite a lot of people did donate, and I was quite shocked, really, because even strangers donated, I don't never heard of, and they donated as well, and I was quite shocked, and I was quite shocked in uh friends donating and communities donating as well, which was very shocking as well.

SPEAKER_11 21:24

Did anybody support you?

SPEAKER_05 21:28

Well, to support me, I had um someone from another charity called the Neita Davis and uh occupational therapists who referred me to a rehab assistant, which she helped me fill out forms to apply through different charities, and they were quite helpful. Um, so really I went through the occupational therapist, really, but it was all hard work because they wanted to find out your information, um, why you need help to get this, why you needed this equipment. Why you want the why how would it help you basically and why you need this piece of equipment basically? So I got bits and pieces of the money of different charities, and to be fair, I was expecting them to say no, and I was quite shocked that they said yes.

Gila 22:19

How did you find for real?

SPEAKER_05 22:23

Well, I'm trying to get used to them now, and um uh it it is quite different compared to you don't have to put a lot of energy in the wheels, and it you have to set it on different modes. Like um, you've got basically a mode where you've got a soft mode, you've got um I haven't tried it all out at the moment, but you've got the soft mode, you've got sensitive, ultra sensitive. The ultra sensitive was crazy because it was like really really fast, and it was driving me in circles as well, which was funny as well. Because I thought what I thought what's going on here. I'm going really fast and going in circles, but uh they got I'm still trying to get used to it. Um it all depends on what um power you put it on, and it's designed. Um you can even uh control it on an app on your phone, which which is amazing as well. Where app on your phone and it adjusts it tells you how much battery is on each how much battery life is on each wheel, and it tells you how many miles you do. I haven't had a chance to look at it fully, but it's got a lot of features on the phone where you can adjust it on the phone. So if you wanted to do it a different type of speed, you can adjust it on the phone.

Carol 23:39

Having been through the process, what advice would you give to someone in the same position as you?

SPEAKER_05 23:48

Well, the advice I'll give is just keep spreading the word. I asked friends um and neighbours, actually my friend and neighbour, um I got them to print up a whole heap of posters um of me basically wanting this equipment and the reasons why I wanted it, and just basically setting up a GoFundMe and then got it, and then I just got them to print as many GoFund posters and just got them to give them out basically. Or what you could do is just um put um advertise it on social media, um spread the word by mouth, what else? Um try and do it with community. I am another friend of mine, Yvonne. She helped me did it on my YouTube channel as well, so that did help on TikTok. If you're on TikTok, YouTube, promote it on YouTube, TikTok, or Facebook.

Carol 24:40

Why didn't the government just give you money for a wheelchair?

SPEAKER_05 24:43

Well, for some reason they wouldn't give it to me. Um they just for certain I think it's all cutbacks, that's what's happening. So certain things they will give you certain certain equipment for your wheelchair, but certain equipment they won't give you, which I think is very wrong because um you just have to be left to just struggle. So uh um funding, it's like how can I explain really? It's really bad that they don't fund these sort of things or to make life like me in a wheelchair easier.

Gila 25:15

Why did you have to raise your own money?

SPEAKER_05 25:19

That is a good question, but that's what um I had no choice basically because no one could help me. The wheelchair people couldn't help me to raise it, so I had to raise it myself, and uh as unfortunately there's no funding for this sort of thing for for people like me, which is annoying really. I mean, um you would think that they would help you, but all cutbacks again. Cutbacks, cutbacks.

Phillip R 25:46

Who fixed the wheels on the wheelchair for you?

SPEAKER_05 25:50

Well, I went to this company um called EPC. I know a friend who used to work there, but he said, Oh, this company does power assisted wheels. So I said, Oh, let me get in contact with him. Um I said that I have got funding for um power assisted wheels, and they said they do it, so I said, Yeah, we'll organise um they told me how much it was, um, and then we had to do the insurance on top of that, which is two years insurance as well. Uh, if it breaks down, I'm insured with the the tyres. So the the all the all the uh funding the GoFundMe and all the charities got the money all together and invoiced EPC and then they bought the wheels. But I had to go down there to go and get it fitted, but it wasn't no quick thing that take off the wheel, put the wheel on. They had to change the axle so it was like three hours. There was a lot of work involved to swap the tie the tyres over to these wheels. We had to go over the sustain, it was in stains, but I managed to get organised transport because I don't drive um with the barber bus. Um, and I managed to get a volunteer um Peter to take me down there. All I needed to do was pay for the petrol money basically to get down there.

Gila 27:07

What does for future look like now you've got your wheelchair?

SPEAKER_05 27:12

Well, now I've got the power assisted wheels. Um I find that it's gonna be much more easier going up hills because I used to struggle uh a hell of a lot to get up hills and to get up the ramp on the bus as well. Because usually I have to ask people to get up. Can you help me get up on the bus on the to get up on the ramp? Especially if it's very steep. So now I couldn't believe how much easier it was for me to get up on the ramp by with these power assisted wheels.

Phillip R 27:41

Remy, we are all very proud of you and your new wheels and your new wheelchair. Please could everyone give her a clap? Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 27:59

Goodbye, everybody. Thank you for our listeners. I'm missing you again. Goodbye, everybody.

Carol 28:06

Bye.

SPEAKER_02 28:07

Bye.

Jonathan 28:08

Goodbye.

SPEAKER_04 28:10

Bye. Adios.

Gila 28:22

Thank you for listening to our podcast. If you like what you're listening to, please like, share, spread the podcast amongst your friends and subscribe or give us a follow. And if you have any ideas, please get in touch. Bye.

SPEAKER_10 28:45

We're here for you. Hooray! Hooray Hooray Hooray.