Industry leaders come together: Rod Von Clark, Flagstaff; Cheryl Tarantola, CatholicCare; Samantha Dawson, Care South; Jake Pearson, Interchange Illawarra; Alisha Musker, The Cram Foundation; Deborah De Santis, Community Life; Nicky Sloan, Community Industry Group; Michael Austin, CatholicCare; Karen Burdett, Greenacres; Tarryn Bracken, The Disability Trust; Alice Lans, Noahs Inclusion Services; and Edward Birt, Community Industry Group. Photo: Keeli Dyson.
Leaders from the Illawarra’s disability sector have joined forces to support people through challenges around supports and funding, but on International Day of People with Disability the CEOs have called on the broader community to help break down barriers and create more inclusive environments.
A unique collaboration of disability service providers from the region is hoping to strengthen a sector under financial strain and improve the lives of local people, with many now facing new challenges managing the supports in place to help them.
“I think the biggest challenge at the moment obviously there’s a lot happening in the disability space with the NDIS commission and changing to funding and models and the sector also being not in a great financial position,” The Cram Foundation CEO Alisha Musker said.
“There is a lot of uncertainty from a policy perspective at the moment,” Greenacres CEO Karen Burdett said.
“There’s been an enormous amount of change in terms of NDIS plan funding, and we appreciate the scheme has to be sustainable, but currently the pressure that providers are under is putting then flow-on pressure to participants to the scheme and there’s a lot of unknowns about what is or isn’t going to be funded.”
Through advocacy groups such as the Illawarra Disability Alliance, conversations and ideas are being shared to ensure the quality of service delivery is the best it can be by using the experiences and knowledge of those on the front line.
“We all work in the same sector and have lots of common clients, where we can share resources and work together to the betterment of people with disabilities and the betterment ultimately to the wider community,” Interchange Illawarra CEO Jake Pearson said.
“I think the important part is that we not only collaborate with each other but we co-design our organisations with people living with a disability and that allows us to remove the barriers that they face every day and provide them with connection with likeminded people within the organisation and provide them the connection and the rights that they have being out in the community,” Ms Musker said.
To create a truly inclusive community that helps people with a disability to reach their potential it’s going to take more than just the work of these organisations.
“There’s a lot of emphasis about the disability industry, but I think as a community we need to look at how we can improve accessibility for people of all ability,” Flagstaff CEO Rodney Von Clark said.
“We have a lot of leaders in the disability sector, but I want to open that invitation to community leaders from all different industries, whether they’re looking at employment or other social activities that they have front of mind a person with a disability and how they can make that welcoming.
“There shouldn’t be reliance on those in the not-for-profit sector and disability providers to just be providing these opportunities for a person with a disability.”
When it comes to providing opportunities, Ms Burdett said policymakers and the community need to keep an open mind and think outside the box when creating solutions to barriers.
“People are often pigeonholed because of what their disability may be, perceptions about what somebody might think someone who has a particular disability can or can’t do, and often society will restrict what that opportunity is for that person and what they can become and who they are,” she said.
“From a societal perspective we’ve made some amazing ground in terms of human rights and people of all abilities actually being recognised and having a seat at the table but we need to look at creative solutions always.”
While their meetings may often be centred around tackling challenges, a dozen industry leaders have now met for a celebration of International Day of People with Disability, to increase awareness within the community.
“I think International Day of People with Disability is really important for us to be able to reflect,” Mr Von Clark said.
“There’s a lot of emphasis about the disability industry, but I think as a community we need to look at how we can improve accessibility for people of all ability.”
“This is an opportunity to celebrate individuals and individual success and to bring home the really important message about inclusivity and the fact that all the community benefits from an inclusive society,” Mr Pearson said.
But they know it will take more than just one day and are all committed to continuing the mission towards creating a more inclusive society.
“The theme this year is about social progress towards inclusion and I think that theme’s really important because it highlights that for true social progress, inclusion has to be at the forefront of every decision that we make every day,” Ms Musker said.
“It can’t just be a once a year discussion.”
