Open your doors campaign

Imagine attempting to enter a shop or restaurant, only to have the door shut in your face. Guide dog owners continue to face difficulties in accessing every day services and facilities the rest of us take for granted.

An image of a yellow labrador guide dog in harness, coming through a red door.

The Open Your Doors campaign, aims to educate service providers about how they can best serve blind and partially-sighted customers.

Guide Dogs' Director of Policy, Tom Pey, explains: "Although there are many examples of good practice, guide dog owners continue to encounter problems accessing services in shops, hotels, pubs, restaurants, banks and building societies. We want to work with all sections of the service industry to ensure that guide dog owners receive the same standard of service as everybody else.

A pocket-sized reference guide has been created - entitled Opening Doors - for everyone who works in the service industry. It outlines the obligations of service providers, and gives practical advice and tips on how to provide a quality service for blind and partially-sighted people and assistance dog users.

The campaign coincides with new rights for disabled people under the Disability Discrimination Act.

An image of a male guide dog owner, with his yellow labrador guide dog, at a pub.

From October 2004, the Act will require service providers to make ?reasonable adjustments? to their premises. They will need to ensure that there are no physical barriers stopping or making it unreasonably difficult for guide dog owners, and other blind and partially sighted customers, to use their services.

Tom Pey explains: "Highlighting good practice will help to make it the norm, so that in the future, our vision of doors always being open to blind and partially sighted people and their guide dogs will become reality."

The links below provide a wealth of further information on this campaign:

Links to Disability Rights Commission website:

www.open4all.org This shows new rights for disabled people under the DDA Act

Latest news

Closing the employment gap: Disability Rights Commission call for case studies

The Disability Rights Commission calls for case studies from guide dog owners to help tackle negative employer attitudes.

The employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people remains worryingly wide, so the DRC is dedicating substantial resources over the next three years to reducing it.

As well as disabled people asserting their rights, a large part of this gap reduction will come through tackling negative employer attitudes to employing disabled people. Towards this end the DRC want to hear from you if you are currently working in a supportive and positive working environment or of you are currently unemployed despite having ample qualifications to pursue your chosen career path. Information on any other businesses that have positive and supportive attitudes to employing disabled people would also be welcome.

If you are able to help please contact Martine Julseth in the DRC Press Office, tel: 020 7543 7045, e-mail: martine.julseth@drc-gb.org.

Or write to: M Julseth, Disability Rights Commission, 3rd Floor Fox Court, 14 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8HN