By Aimee McLellan, Project Development Officer, I Am Me Scotland
For many people with a head injury, getting to and from places can seem like a very daunting challenge – especially if your injury has left you with balance issues or problems walking. Or you come across people who don’t understand you have a brain injury.
So, how can charity I Am Me help?
I Am Me is a Renfrewshire based charity that was founded in 2012 after our founder watched a disability hate crime documentary and realised there was no initiative in Scotland to help fight against disability hate crime.
This is where the Keep Safe initiative was born.
As covid restrictions are continuously being lifted, the Keep Safe initiative continues to grow.
Keep Safe
You might be thinking what is keep safe?
Well, Keep Safe is a national initiative that aims to create safe places for disabled people, vulnerable people and people who might just be overwhelmed and need a few minutes to catch up with themselves whilst out travelling in the community.
These safe places can be any shop or business that meet the essential criteria (adequate floor space, two members of staff present always).
These premises are also approved by Police Scotland and receive free Keep Safe training and will then be provided a Keep Safe sticker for their window to make them easily identifiable to Keep Safe users.
Currently, there are over 900 Keep Safe places across Scotland. You can check these out on our free ‘’Keep Safe Scotland’’ app.
Keep Safe App
As part of the Keep Safe initiative, I Am Me developed a Keep Safe app that is free for download on all Android and Apple smart devices.
The Keep Safe app allows users to plan their route to their chosen destination and provide information and location of Keep Safe places along the way.
The app also allows users to anonymously report crimes to Police Scotland.
Keep Safe Card
The Keep Safe card is provided for free and details important information such as a person’s name, health condition or disability, communication requirements and emergency contact details.
They also include a section for ‘any other helpful information’. This is often used to detail a regular taxi company or bus route and can be particularly helpful for individuals with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
To request a Keep Safe card, email the team at iamme@renfrewshire.gov.uk
Resources
I Am Me are now providing Keep Safe training for new businesses virtually and have also developed an exciting eLearning Keep Safe course.
This course has been developed for new staff members at Keep Safe places and will teach them everything they need to know to confidently provide Keep Safe assistance.
The course can also be used by individuals who are looking to get a ‘refresher’ on Keep Safe and have a better understanding about what the initiative entails. It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
If you are interested in accessing this course, please get in touch with the team at iamme@renfrewshire.gov.uk to register your interest.
Aimee McLellan
Project Development Officer, I Am Me Scotland.