Start Newsletter MDAA sHARE Newsletter August 2009 MDAA Contact details: by phone: (02) 9891 6400 or 1800 629 072 by fax: (02) 9635 5355 by e-mail: mdaa@mdaa.org.au Website: www.mdaa.org.au by writing: PO Box 9381, Harris Park NSW 2150 by coming to the office: Monday -Friday, 9.00am - 5.00pm, 40 Albion Street, Harris Park NSW 2150 IN THIS ISSUE: Relationship Forum, Community Voices Training and MDAA News Page 1 MDAA RELATIONSHIP FORUM 26 AUGUST This was a nice discussion about how to make friends, form healthy relationship and talk to family members, partners and people you meet. MDAA members and consumers got to know how to make connections with tips about communication skills and body language such as a smile on your face. They also expressed their feelings and their mood on the day and learnt how to spot what a healthy relationship looks like. Consumers Feedback: “ I liked the part about how communication helps to build stronger relationships (solving problems, avoiding communications breakdowns) and the importance of listening”, “I would like another forum to talk more about relationships”. COMING UP in SEPTEMBER and NOVEMBER 2009: Morning Tea for MEMBERS and interested individuals: In the lead up to the AGM which is scheduled on 25 November, MDAA is again having its membership recruitment campaign so we will be inviting members and encouraging their friends to come to our Get Together scheduled at 30 September to talk about how to become involved in MDAA be it as a member or of the Committee. As you know increasing our membership means making MDAA a stronger voice for people from NESB with a disability. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER DETAILS or speak to Vanco about this as he is organising the Morning Tea!!!!! Page 2 Community Voices Training 2009 Our shiny new trainees were Dora & John, Cary, Sharon (CIWDA), Emmanuel, Elvira. Gary started but was not able to finish the training. Six (6) training sessions were held from 3 June to 8 July. All trainees participated in the NSW Ombudsman-MDAA Forum on Rights and Complaints on 24.06.09 to improve their self advocacy skills. At the final session everybody was very motivated even some tears were shed (maybe the training was too hard?). There was a lot of help from Lyn, Kristen and Judith. MDAA NEWS Korean Social Work students and their teacher visited MDAA on 18.08.09: The visit was organised by the Korean Association and were welcomed by Lyn (MDAA Assistant Director). Lyn talked about how MDAA works with people from non English backgrounds with disability and Elvira from the Community Voices talked about her personal story. It was the first presentation done by Elvira and the Korean group was happy with all the information received. They presented Lyn with a set of hand made traditional Korean masks. Page 3 CARE Rally organised by the Australian Services Union (ASU) On Friday 7 August, 8 MDAA staff along with 1,500 other community and disability workers marched through central Sydney to NSW Parliament House, waving streamers and chanting "We want equal pay." The rally and march was part of a long campaign run by the ASU and union members to improve pay and conditions. The wages of community and disability workers are, on average, $20,000 per yearless than government workers who do the same work, yet government increasingly rely on the community sector to deliver these services on their behalf. At the march, ASU Secretary Sally McManus said “workers in the community sector do the same work with the same clients - the homeless, domestic-violence victims, people with disability and people living with mental illness - but their work was not valued the same. The community sector is drastically under-funded and faces a serious crisis in attracting and retaining skilled staff.” It was amazing to see so many workers from over 200 different not-for-profit (nongovernment) organisations across NSW at the rally, with representatives as far as Wollongong, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and Goulburn. In July, Kristen finished her student placement at MDAA, and staff members said thanks to her for her contribution to our daily work at Harris Park. Thanks Kris!!! On 17 August MDAA said goodbye to Individual Advocate Gordana Kalanj. The farewell was also a happy occasion because it was Gordana’s and Shu’s (Admin staff) birthdays too. A cake and a lot of food made the day for staff members and consumers who came to say goodbye to our friendly and always helpful Gordana. Good luck in your new work!!! In July, Kristen finished her student placement at MDAA, and staff members said thanks to her for her contribution to our daily work at MDAA. Thanks Kris!!! On 17 August MDAA said goodbye to Individual Advocate Gordana Kalanj. The farewell was also a happy occasion because it was Gordana’s and Shu’s (Admin staff) birthdays too. A cake and a lot of food made the day for staff members and consumers who came to say goodbye to our friendly and always helpful Gordana. Good luck in your new work!!! Page 4 Bradfield Park Wellbeing Centre Carers Activities: Is there someone in your family with a mental illness or do you have a friend with a mental illness? Do you want to know more about mental illness or ‘respite’? Bradfield Park Wellbeing Centre provides activities, information forums, referrals and support to carers or people who support someone with a mental illness. The service invites the service providers and the community to information forums about mental illness and respite. Dates Tuesday 18 August: Intro to Family History Stanton Library, Miller St North Sydney. Time: 10-12pm Wednesday 19 August: Movie ‘Cheri’ Orpheum, Military Rd Cremorne. Time 11-1:30pm Public Forums Wednesday 26 August: Prof. Gin Malhi RNSH, has a longstanding interest in mood disorders in particular bipolar disorder and depression. Wednesday 30 September: Petrea King, CEO and Founding Director Quest for Life Foundation Time: 7-9pm Venue Bradfield Park Wellbeing Centre 41 Alfred Street Milsons Point NSW 2061 RSVP for all events essential Ruth Jacka or Paul Oglesby on 8920 0675. Email wrap1@kncsydney.org The Department of Justice and Attorney General has recently translated their Request for Court Assistance brochure into Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese. The brochure provides people with disability information on how they can request reasonable adjustments to assist them in court. The brochure has a translated form that allows you to ask for your individual requirements. These brochures are available through MDAA, at court houses, on the internet on www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/diversityservices or contact Diversity Services on 86887507. Religious and Significant Days SEPTEMBER 8 Nativity of Virgin Mary Christian 14 Holy Cross Day Christian 16 Laylat el Qadr** Islam 19-20 Rosh Hashanah * Jewish 19-27 Navaratri Hindu 20 Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan ends)** Islam 28 Yom Kippur* Jewish Dasera ** Hindu OCTOBER 3-9 Sukkot* Jewish 10 Shemini Atzeret * Jewish 11 Simchat Torah * Jewish 17 Diwali - Deepavali ** Hindu, Sikh 20 Birth of the B’ab Baha’i Note: * Usually begins sunset the day before; ** local customs may vary this date. Dates and information largely obtained from the Interfaith Calendar (www.interfaithcalendar.org/2009.htm). More details about each day can be found at www.mdaa.org.au on the Frequently Asked Questions page. Insert High rates of diabetes in Filipinos in NSW Filipinos are over–represented in the NSW Health survey with regard to Diabetes. Filipinos living in NSW are in the top five groups of migrants who have high rates of Diabetes. People born in the Philippines also have higher hospitalisation rates due to diabetes than their Australian-born counterparts. As part of the Multicultural Health week activities celebrated from 27 July-1 August 2009 and a key strategy of two government organisations to reach out to multicultural groups, a talk on diabetes prevention was presented by Bernadette Galing–Aquino, a bilingual dietician from Auburn Hospital. Key topics presented were basic information on Diabetes, healthy eating and lifestyle and specific information on the Filipino diet. Information was available in English and Filipino. The talk was sponsored by NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service, Multicultural Health Service of Sydney South West Area health Service (SSWAHS) in conjunction with the Visayan Association of Australia, the Philippine Community Council of NSW and the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association (MDAA). Susan Laguna from MDAA also talked about the support MDAA provides for carers of people with a disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The talk was a success and was attended by over 30 people from the community. The group found the presentation very insightful, interactive and interesting. Using the data from the evaluation forms, it is recommended that further presentations be conducted for the community along with a fact sheet summarising the key points of the presentation. Have a say in your Health Service! Sydney South West Area Health Service (SSWAHS) is seeking interested community members who represent the community to participate by giving their opinions and views on health and consumers issues. Our community is made up of people with different life experiences and perspectives. We want membership of the Fairfield Consumer and Community Network to be as diverse as the community we serve. We are seeking interested people who live in the Fairfield area who have experience with the health system as a patient or carer and have links to the community. More information: Gabi Martinez Ph: (02) 87174028 or gabriela.martinezl@sswahs.nsw.gov.au Insert PLANNING FOR PEOPLE IN RESIDENTIAL CENTRES REVIEWED BY NSW OMBUDSMAN The NSW Ombudsman is pleased to announce the release of the recently completed ‘Review of individual planning in DADHC large residential centres’. The review examines the way services are planned and delivered to meet the individual needs of people with disabilities living in large residential centres operated by the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC). Over 6000 people in NSW with disabilities live in the care of disability services and a significant proportion, 28 per cent, live in residential centres. Almost three quarters of this group live in the nine large residential centres operated by DADHC. A fundamental component of disability legislation and standards in NSW is that each person with a disability receives a service that is designed to meet their individual needs in the least restrictive way. The decision by the Ombudsman to undertake the ‘Review of individual planning in DADHC large residential centres’ followed information from our reviews of the deaths of people with disabilities in care as well as reports from Official Community Visitors that raised concerns about individual planning in large residential centres. The review, conducted during 2008, incorporated each of the nine DADHC large residential centres, and a total of 60 residents from a mix of cottages and units. These residents represented a mix of ages, gender, cultural background, and support needs. Issues canvassed in the course of the review included individual planning process, decision-making and choice, health care, behaviour support, and community participation and integration. Overall the review identified substantial gaps between DADHC policy, the requirements of the Act and actual service delivery to residents. For example, current DADHC policy requires that all residents have an Individual Plan. However the review found that many residents are not active participants in their own Individual Plan process. Resident involvement in making decisions about their lives, including what they wanted to do, how they wanted to live and who they wanted to live with, was found to be infrequent. Family contact, assistance to communicate, health care planning, unmet lifestyle and environment needs for individuals requiring behaviour support and adequate and meaningful participation and integration into the community were all identified as areas of concern. The involvement of advocates who might facilitate greater participation by the residents in these processes and decisions, was minimal. The review was able to identify factors contributing to the gap between requirements and practice. These include, among other things, staffing levels and staff training, the inherent nature of congregate settings and the structured routines of centres impacting the ability of staff to meet the individual needs of residents. Recommendations by the NSW Ombudsman arising from the review and DADHC’s response to a draft of the review are available to download. A full copy of the Review of individual planning in DADHC large residential centres’ is available at: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/show.asp?id=525 and a summary of the review is available at: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/show.asp?id=526 The NSW Ombudsman will monitor DADHC’s progress in relation to the recommendations, including the development of the department’s action plan and its implementation. For further information regarding this release please contact Tracylee Arestides on 02 9286 1000. (Press release received from the NSW Ombudsman’s Office) End of August 2009 newsletter