Don’t DIS my ABILITY

How will your school celebrate International Day of People with Disability? Each year, throughout November and December, NSW celebrates the Don’t DIS my ABILITY campaign. Different organisations host events and the campaign publishes Made You Look, a great magazine about all things disability!

International Day of People with Disability will be on  Tuesday 3rd December. You might like to discuss it with your teachers or check out some of the events in your local area.

You might not have considered that there is work for Events Managers or Campaign Managers in the disability and community care sector. The team at Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) who manage Don’t DIS my ABILITY include Events Managers, Graphic Designers, IT Professionals and Social Media specialists, all involved in creating a statewide awareness campaign. If politics is more your thing, consider the team who are lobbying for the NDIS, with the highly successful Every Australian Counts campaign.

If you are interested in frontline support work, you may end up doing a little Events Management anyway. Read about Ryan on the carecareers blog, who loves organising International Day of People with Disability events at The Disability Trust, where he is a Manager of Sport and Recreation Services. Or read about Jacqui, who organised an art exhibition and concert as part of her role at Northwest Disability Services.

Make sure you get involved and celebrate International Day of People with Disability this year. We will be!

Meet Kyrilos

From workshops to Certificate Training, where does the projectABLE journey take you? We speak to Kyrillos, student and projectABLE ambassador since 2011. Kyrillos featured in one of last year’s projectABLE ambassador videos alongside fellow ambassador and volunteer Amy with Louise Olsen from Dinosaur Designs, viewable online.

I began to get involved with projectABLE through the workshop at Interaction Disability Services (IDS) in Castle Hill, originally just to check it out and see what the community sector was about. The half day workshop was a really interactive lesson and really inspired me to keep on going.

Here I was able to apply for a First Aid Course and work experience in which I participated in dance with some clients from IDS. It was from this point forth that I took a great deal of interest in the program and understood the theoretical and practical components of a care career. I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of three ambassadors, where I was fully able to enjoy a fulfilling experience with projectABLE.

projectABLE is a step in shifting from a normal working environment into more interactive places and it’s great because the community sector gets more recognition which is what we need at the moment.

I hope to one day become a doctor and assist clients who may not have their wants and needs attended by medical specialists who are possibly impatient and inconsiderate.
I gained a world’s worth from projectABLE. I was able to improve not only my communication skills but more importantly my perceptions of people with a disability. Everything that a disabled person needs and wants is the same as an able person needs and wants. Check projectABLE out, it’s a really great experience.

Where will projectABLE take you in 2013? We’ll be listing workshop dates soon – sign up to our newsletter to stay posted.

Did you hear? NDIS funded in NSW

So, you were probably at school today when the Prime Minister announced funding for the NDIS in NSW, but the projectABLE team were all gathered around the TV watching her press conference.

If you haven’t followed the Every Australian Counts campaign for a National Disability Insurance Scheme, you can catch up on the facts with our What is the NDIS? blog. The campaign has steadily convinced politicians on both sides of parliament to come together to improve services for people with disability living in Australia. This will mean more funding, more consistent services across Australia, and more jobs in the disability and community care sector for you to apply for when you’ve finished studying!

Today Prime Minister Gillard and Premier Barry O’Farrell announced that the NDIS would be funded in NSW, providing  extra care for about 140,000 residents. This is excellent news and a great reward for all the disability advocates who have fought long and hard for the scheme.

Learn more about this landmark decision on the ABC website: Feds, NSW strike deal on disability scheme.

Follow Every Australian Counts on Facebook for more info.

Julia Gillard and Barry O'Farrell