Skiggle – a rescue service for the disabled world

Guest blog from Skiggle.

For many of us within the disability community, the last 12 months of shielding has meant we haven’t got much further than our own gardens’ – for those of us fortunate enough to have one – so all we’ve been able to do is browse Euan’s Guide to eagerly plan out the places we want to visit when we safely can. And once we are travelling again, Skiggle can offer you added peace of mind particularly if you are away from home. 

Skiggle is a disability charity, which runs a unique SOS emergency alert service and online marketplace. Both services give you somewhere to turn if you find yourself miles from home without something crucial (SOS emergency alert service) or if your usual supply of equipment or care products is delayed (marketplace). 

Image of: Skiggle’s website.

The marketplace at Skiggle.co.uk contains hundreds of unopened, unused items of equipment and a wide range of disability care products that can be safely donated, distributed and shared among those in need. It gives people somewhere to go if they need things like sealed feed items, specialist disability equipment or care consumables, but it also helps reduce some of the huge amount of plastic waste that would be going directly – unopened – straight to landfill.  

Image of: Skiggle’s online marketplace.

Skiggle’s pièce de résistance however is its SOS emergency alert service. What would you do if you were away from home and your loved one’s feeding tube broke or if you forgot to pack the feed they need? You know as well as we do that you can’t just pop to a local shop to replace them. That’s where Skiggle comes in. All you have to do is send us an SOS and we will help find someone nearby, from our growing membership, to come to your aid. 

A rescue service for the disabled world. 

Image of: Christine and her son James with Skiggle’s co-founder Helen.

Skiggle was set up by Christine Singleton and Helen Taylor after Christine and her family had gone on holiday without a box of specialist feed for their son, James who is profoundly disabled. After hours of frantic calls to health professionals, the only options were to admit James to a regional children’s hospital or drive the many miles back home. Christine realised there must be lots of people who find themselves in similar positions, and many more who miss out on the joy of holidays, short breaks and days out altogether. For some people, the added stress of what to do or how they would cope if they forgot something or if something was to break, is too big a risk to take. 

Image of: James lying down with Christine and Helen behind him.

Skiggle’s support network of people who are willing to share or donate their own surplus supply to someone in need stands at more than 7,000. Our aim is to grow the charity to have support within every county in the UK and then to a point where help will never be any more than 10 miles away… whenever you need it and wherever you may be. 

Skiggle is the safety net you need to go on holiday feeling assured and to live your fullest lives. Life always comes before the disability. 

Visit Skiggle.co.uk to get involved and find out more. 

Tags: guest blog