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Published: 29 October, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

A DISABILITY campaigner from Islington has received a coveted Women of the Year award at a lunch attended by actresses Julie Walters, Sheila Hancock and Patricia Hodge.

Dame Helena Ken­nedy QC presented Jean Willson, 68, with the accolade for her work with children who have learning difficulties.

After the presentation, Mrs Willson warned that cuts to social services could put many thousands of vulnerable people at risk.

Four hundred women who have made an outstanding contribution in their fields were named Women of the Year at the event in the West End.

Mrs Willson’s extraordinary story – featured in the Tribune – of how she coped with her daughter’s disability at a time when there was little support was described as “inspirational”.

Her daughter, wheelchair-user Victoria, now 40, is so severely disabled that her only means of communication is by raising her eyebrows or making sounds.

However, she defied all the odds to survive, despite being almost totally immobile and having severe physical and learning disabilities, including no speech.

Although Victoria needs 24-hour supervised care, she is able to live “independently” in a specially-converted home on Priory Green Peabody estate at King’s Cross.

Her story – and the courage of the Willson family – was recognised in a documentary film made by the government three years ago to highlight the positive achievements of disabled people.

The Willsons have had a huge struggle since Victoria was born with tuberous sclerosis, a condition which causes growths on the brain.

Her mother, a qualified social worker from Cornelia Street who wrote a book about Victoria titled Home at Last, said: “She was a lot of hard work as a child. And in those days it was pretty grim because there was no help. Fortunately, I had the support of my husband Norman, but many couples split because of the strain.

“Victoria screamed a lot and had two potentially life-threatening conditions ­– epilepsy and kidney problems.

“By the time she reached five I was so exhausted I allowed her to go into a Cheshire Home. I had to think about Norman and our other daughter. But it was 100 miles away and we got her into a more local centre in the Liverpool Road a year later.”

Mrs Willson said her biggest battle was with medical authorities who wanted to institutionalise Victoria. “They could have put her in a nursing home for the rest of her life but I didn’t want that,” she said. “I believe Victoria is entitled to as full a life as anyone else.”

Twenty  years ago the then Labour-controlled Islington Council agreed to an “experiment” by allowing Victoria and another severely disabled woman to move into the converted bungalow on Priory Green estate. The two women are cared for on a 24-hour basis by two live-in female care workers.

The majority of the cost of the £100,000 scheme is paid by the government ­– the rest by the council. Mrs Willson said: “Of course, it would be cheaper to put the women in a home. But they would have no quality of life. 

“Victoria is able to go to the pub with her carer and have a beer. She gets out and likes meeting people. 

“She leads a full life within the confines of the condition. She’s very happy.”

Mrs Willson fears that the current round of government cuts could jeopardise support for disabled people like Victoria.

She is vice chairwoman of Centre 404, the Holloway-based office which co-ordinates help for thousands of the borough’s disabled and their parents and carers. “We’re launching a million pound appeal to have the centre refurbished with lifts and proper access for the disabled,” she said.

Olympics centre architect Zaha Hadid saluted

CLERKENWELL architect Zaha Hadid won a Women of the Year Outstanding Achievement Award.

Ms Hadid designed the Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics. Its fluid, wavelike roof is expected to become an iconic image of the 2012 games.

She was born in Baghdad in 1950 and gained a degree in mathematics at the American University in Beirut before moving to London in 1972 to study at the Architecture Association School. Ms Hadid heads her own  practice employing more than 350 people. 

She created the pavilion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Serpentine Gallery in 2000, and designed the Bergisel ski jump in Austria, the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Art in Ohio and the Phaeno Science Centre in Germany.

Lindsay Nicholson, editor of Good Housekeeping magazine, which organised the event, said: “Zaha’s exceptional success on the world stage makes her an inspiration for women and girls. We are delighted to have her as winner of the award.”