Newsletter Start MDAA Newsletter October 2011 In this issue - MDAA AGM Time, Consultation For Supported Living ADHC Page 1 AGM Time Again!! Rachel Lazarov: Hi everyone, as your Chairperson, I am honoured to invite you to MDAA.s 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM). Now, I can also tell you that MDAA is going to move to new premises this December 2011. We have the Minister for Ageing Disability Services, Honourable Andrew Constance, to launch the new premises. This time we will not be renting anymore as we have decided to purchase the old Police Station in Granville (10-12 Hutchison Street) which is full of history as the first headquarters of Granville Police for 125 years. The building is heritage-listed so we should all be proud of this achievement! So, come to the AGM and as usual the Management and Staff promise you a day of fun! Then we can stroll down to MDAA.s new home. When: Thursday, 8 December, 2011 Where: Granville Youth & Community Recreation Centre, 3A Memorial Drive, Granville, Parking via Enid and Diamond Ave Time: Please arrive at 10.30am for Morning Tea. AGM starts at 11am followed by the end of year party with food and entertainment. MDAA SAYS GOOD BYE TO GEORGE BAUXBAUM George was born to Ukrainian background parents who came to Australia from Poland in the mid 1950's. He was a long standing member of MDAA and Community Voices, he joined MDAA Committee holding different positions; and also worked with other community organisations and parenting groups, he was a Support person and worker for Self Advocacy Sydney as well as teaching computers in the neighbourhood centres to the aged. He had one son. George took care of his sick mother when she needed help. He was daring, sometimes noisy but friendly and kind. All of us at MDAA thanks George for his long and hearted contribution to our organisation!! George passed away on 19 October 2011. Page 2 COME AND BE HEARD: Consultation For Supported Living The Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC), Department of Family and Community Services, has committed $60 million over five years through Stronger Together – Phase 2, to provide a Supported Living Fund. The Fund will provide a total of 300 packages (100 each in 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14) across NSW. ADHC is currently in the development phase for the Supported Living Fund, and is seeking to consult with people involved so it will be successfully implemented. Please see the attached information sheet which gives more information about the Supported Living Fund. ADHC is eager to hear your thoughts, and a specific consultation is now being organised with MDAA so this is your chance to contribute towards how the Fund will take shape. During this consultation, ADHC will also be providing some information on other current accommodation service options. ADHC has asked MDAA to invite its consumers and carers to contribute towards creating a person centred service approach over the coming months. These consultations are focusing on personalised planning, individualised funding and personal budgets and person centred service delivery. We would value your involvement and would like you to attend the consultation on 4 November 2011 at 10.30am - 12.30pm at Granville Youth and Community Centre, 3A Memorial Drive Granville NSW 2142. Please register your interest in the Supported Living Fund consultations by contacting the facilitators engaged by ADHC: Ursula Williams from Burson-Marsteller on 9928 1508 or ursula.williams@bm.com David Cunningham: The Volunteer, The Film Maker.... (Picture of David Cunningham). Just thought I.d take a quick moment to introduce myself to you all. As some of you already know, my name is David, I have CP, use a manual wheelchair, have a partial visual impairment being blind in the right eye and I reside in Blacktown with my Mother and my precious cat called Tiger(He.s ginger and I.ve had him for ten years now!) I come to MDAA in a voluntary capacity assisting the A/g CEO to work on some key Systemic Advocacy Issues and in Administration Support. My professional background has been a mixture of private advocacy along with progressive political activism on various social justice issues. In my career to date, I have been a service user, employee and board member of a disability service and have served previously on a couple of Government Consultative committees. At present, I.m a training presenter for Touching Base Inc-a not-for-profit organisation working to advance the sexuality and intimacy rights of people with disabilities, a 12yr voluntary private advocate, a co-creator and producer of a developing concept for disability variety TV show for a mainstream audience and I.m a registered JP in NSW. In my spare time when ever that is, I love watching YouTube videos, spending time with Mum and Tiger and meditating on a Friday afternoon. I would like to extend my thanks to you all for the warm welcome I.ve received as I.m committed to making a valued contribution to our fine organisation! ‘A Fist Full Of Marbles’ – Sample Sketch Summery...... As a part of our celebrations for the UN International Day of People With Disability, SESA invited me to submit the sample sketch my co-creator and I developed as a component of our TV Show Concept called „The Dangerous Dave Show. for their event in conjunction with Rockdale Council on the 3 November, 2011. A Fist Full Of Marbles funs for exactly 9 minutes and explores how I as the proposed host of the concept go from Advocate to „Dangerous Dave. assisting a group of homeless people to find a new place after being kicked out of their Unit Block by an evil rich property developer played by my co- creator, Paul Robertson. The Sample Sketch has passed a test audience screening at Metro Screen Pty. Ltd in Paddington to much acclaim and is a great starting point for this project. Page 3 MDAA Welcomes Jon, Jane and Gustav: Jon: Our new Corporate Services Manager, Jon Hillman joined us on 17 October. He comes most recently from similar roles in government and the private and the Not for Profit sectors. Jon started his career as a high school teacher (Economics and Geography) and then briefly as a college lecturer (Law and Government). On a more personal note Jon is a born and bred Sydneysider who loves the bush; he is a passionate environmentalist. Jon also has a keen interest in history, especially Colonial Australian history and is the publishing Editor of „Franny Shorter.s Amazing Diary.a diary of a woman who migrated to Australia in 1884. His current history project is an attempt to get a local Council in Sydney to establish a Museum. Jon told us “the whole of our MDAA team has made me feel very welcome and the Admin team in particular has made my first week so much easier by their very generous support...it has been hugely appreciated! I look forward to meeting the rest of our team from regional offices as soon as I can.” Jane: Hi, my name is Jane Greig and I commenced as the Individual Advocate for MDAA in Griffith in September 2011. My background is with the Department of Education working as a Learning Support Officer with students with learning difficulties and as an administration officer. Both the schools that I have worked with have a big multicultural population. Griffith is situated in the south-west of NSW and has a population of 24,000. It is a diverse community represented by over fifty nationalities. One of our major disadvantages is the distance from major cities for health services. Having lived all my life in Griffith, I have very strong connections within the city and am an active member of the multicultural communities. My father contracted polio as a young man and my partner has an acquired brain injury, so this has given me insight into the rights and challenges faced by people with disability. I will endeavour to promote MDAA „s mission statement and the service that we provide through community consultations and ongoing support to our members. All of the MDAA staff has made me feel very welcome and I am looking forward to a long and rewarding future with the Association. Hello to Gustav Picture: Left Gustav, Shu and Carmelita Gustav Gebels now living in Queensland came to visit Sydney and of course he visited us in Harris Park. He has been a member of MDAA since the beginning so, we were very happy so see him again. MDAA Farewel to Spike and Sharon: Spike worked as Executive Assistant and took care of MDAA.s filing system making sense of the sea of papers and computer files piled up. Sharon started with the Network of Women with Disability in NSW, then the Advocacy In Action program– went to meet people with disability in regional areas in NSW - and later with the Siblings -CALD Sibling Support Network Project which undertook art projects in conjunction with the Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), building digital media skills to provide young people with the opportunity to express their experiences of having a sibling with a disability in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Good Luck and thanks for your contribution!! Page 4 The PRIDE In Colour working group would like to invite all cultural groups found within New South Wales to submit personal stories for the proposed 2012 „diverseCITY. .catalogue, being complied for the Living In Harmony Festival in March 2012. In 2011 we held a community consultation at Sydney.s Town Hall to allow members of diverse multicultural communities an opportunity to be heard. Quickly we came to realise that it is very important to share stories. It empowers the writer and supports the reader, and by documenting the stories we are able to share these personal stories with will the whole of New South Wales, Australia and the World- helping to creating understanding and acceptance. If you would like to participate please send through no more than 300 words about you and your journey. Please feel free to add your name or write under an alias, we would ask that you do add your age and nationality, as this will allow readers to identify with you and feel less alone. So please if you would like to „share a story. or know of anyone that would like to participate feel free to pass this invitation along, everyone is welcome. If you would like further information please feel free to contact us at PRIDE In Colour – prideincolour@hotmail.com. Submissions close on the 1 of December 2011 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pride-in- Colour/198173440230572 PRIDE In Colour is a Sydney based sexuality, sex and gender diverse multicultural group. Pride In Colour Nidhi In The News Nidhi is a member of MDAA and she sent us this Parramatta Advertiser 17.08.11 article. MDAA gratefully acknowledges funding provided by the Australian Government through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, as well as funding from Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Department of Human Services NSW By Tom Westbrook: “Parramatta Northcott Disability Services has thrown down the gauntlet: Find jobs in the area for 11 people with disability before the end of the month. It is part of a push by Northcott.s employment service, Jobmatch, to encourage employers to hire - people with disability as workers as Job Match Business Manager, Anthony Pascale says will stick around longer, take less sick leave and make fewer compensation claims than the average employee. That is certainly the experience that Steve Clarke, the executive officer at Down Syndrome NSW, has had since hiring Nidhi Shekaran three years ago. „„She is very diligent, very reliable and rarely misses a day.s work,.. he said. Ms Shekaran landed the clerical assistant.s job after finding it through the Jobmatch network and taking some training courses before she started. Jobmatch also helped install some workplace modifications to make it easier for Ms Shekaran, who has a mild physical disability and mild vision impairment, to get the job done. „„The job has given me a lot – it.s broadened my horizons,.. she said. „„This is a very inclusive workplace – it.s very flexible and it makes you feel like you.re coming to do something you enjoy doing... Nidhi is a member of MDAA and she sent us this Parramatta Advertiser 17.08.11 article. MDAA gratefully acknowledges funding provided by the Australian Government through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, as well as funding from Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Department of Human Services NSW Contact MDAA: Harris Park Phone: (02) 9891 6400 or 1800 629 072 Newcastle (02) 4927 0111 Wollongong (02) 4226 9971 Griffith (02) 6962 5399 MDAA also auspices these services: SESA Rockdale (02) 9597 9970 SEA Bega (02) 6492 0200 CIWDA Ultimo (02) 9281 8699 Website: www.mdaa.org.au MDAA E-mail: mdaa@mdaa.org.au Page 5 Supported Living Fund – Draft Information Sheet – August 2011 Supported Living Fund – What is it? The Supported Living Fund is an initiative that aims to provide people with a disability and their families and carers greater opportunity to create a good life, build sustainable networks and person centred living arrangements. The Supported Living Fund is a recurrent source of funding which is both individualised and portable. The focus of the Supported Living Fund The focus is on giving people with a disability and their families and carers a truly flexible and person centred option in the planning of ongoing living supports. What this looks like and how it is achieved will reflect the aspirations of the individual and their network of support. The Supported Living Fund is not considered to be a „program. or „type of service. and how people access and use the Supported Living Fund will be varied. What will the Supported Living Fund look like? Every person who accesses the Supported Living Fund will have their own plan and vision for the future. For some people this may be to move out of the family home to their own home as soon as possible. Family and friends may be involved in the planning and transition, and a mix of formal and informal supports will have been put in place. For other people, the formal transition to their own home may be the goal of the plan, but will require further planning, increased skills and a broader network of support. The Supported Living Fund will give the person and their family the opportunity to plan their supports, both formal and informal to plan for this transition. What the Supported Living Fund could be used for? It is envisaged that the packages will be used to purchase a combination of traditional disability supports and mainstream services, complementing a person.s existing informal/formal supports and networks. In other states, supported living initiatives have been used to: • Develop plans for moving into one’s own home • Pay for support to live in your own home • Attend life skills programs and other courses (e.g. cooking, work skills) • Increase circles of support and informal networks • Purchase specialist accommodation and needs based equipment (e.g home modifications) • Facilitate relationship building and social supports It is also envisaged that people may utilise the fund as either a recurrent or one-off source, and their level of assistance from the Supported Living Fund may change over time. The average amount of a Supported Living Fund package will be $50,000 per person per annum. Development of the Supported Living Fund Community consultation will be undertaken from August 2011 to inform how the fund will operate. A representative SLF Working Group commenced in June 2011 to examine best practice and evidence, provide advice and recommendations on issues relating to implementation, outcomes and evaluation methods. Timeframes for the Supported Living Fund rollout The commencement of the Supported Living Fund for eligible individuals is likely to occur in the beginning of the 2012 calendar year. Should you have any questions or suggestions about the Supported Living Fund, please email slffeedback@dhs.nsw.gov.au or call 9277 5631. Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Department of Family and Community Services Supported Living Fund – Draft Information Sheet – August 2011 End of newsletter