Purple Tuesday 2019 – a day which aims to improve customer experience for disabled people - will be held at The Beacon on November 12.

The day has been organised by Eastbourne Access Group and Inclusive Eastbourne with the support of The Beacon where staff have committed to taking part in disability awareness training.

Eastbourne Borough Council and the Eastbourne Disability Involvement Group (DIG) are sponsoring the event that is also supported by Eastbourne Blind Society, Eastbourne Hearing Resource Centre, Eastbourne Shopmobility and Canine Partners.

There will be different stands outside River Island from 10am until 4pm, where customers can talk to organisations to find out more about practical actions that can help the needs of disabled people.

Last year, Purple Tuesday was held for the first time when it was aimed specifically at the retail sector. More than 1,500 pledges were made to make concrete changes to improve the experience for disabled customers. These included commitments such as staff training, digital audits, better signage and training of frontline staff in basic British sign language and becoming dementia friendly.

For its second year, the event is being rolled out across all sectors by disability organisation Purple that launched the initiative in 2018.
Gaylor Sadlo, Director of Inclusive Eastbourne, said: “We are really pleased to organise the second Purple Tuesday event in Eastbourne. We’re urging local businesses to sign up for the event and make a lasting commitment to changing their organisation to better the experience for disabled customers as well as their carers and families.”
Bill Plumridge, manager of The Beacon, said: “We take accessibility for our disabled customers very seriously and are constantly looking at ways we can help and improve their needs. We have given dementia and autism awareness training to our team and are organising disability awareness training too. All our stores have shown a commitment to becoming more accessible.”

Councillor Rebecca Whippy, Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Disabilities and Community Safety, said: “As a council we are committed to improving disabled access across the town and so we are delighted to support the second Purple Tuesday in The Beacon. We support its vision to see disability as an opportunity and to be part of addressing the inequality that exists for disabled people through increasing accessibility for everything they do.”
If you would like to participate in Purple Tuesday, or for further information, visit the website www.purpletuesday.org.uk.