Disability Yarning Circles in Hume
The outcomes of the Hume Disability Yarning Circle were
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Disability Yarning Circles in Whittlesea
The key points made regarding accessing Disability Services were:
·Outreach approach is vital – don’t expect families/ people with disability to go to you
· Lack of knowledge about what is available,
· Having an identifiable Aboriginal worker to facilitate access to service vital for families (e.g. Matty’s job at DHS). Particularly important for DHS intake.
· Having a Koori worker dedicated to working with the community to explain the system and engage is critical to getting service access
· Long term planning – Aboriginal families often struggle with this. Need for more immediate help,
· 'Disability’ – not a concept that is known in original languages, definitions and descriptions need to be in plain language.
· Difficult to navigate a system that takes forever to respond – e.g. ECIS services. Families give up.
· 14 years ago when trying to get service there was nothing. Now it’s getting better but still difficult to make the first move.
· Access to Carer’s allowance, mobility allowance from C/W still relatively unknown – Centrelink can assist.
· Often identification of a disability in a family or for an individual in the Aboriginal community comes from ‘outsiders’ who might be familiar. This then can lead to accusations of neglect, which isn’t helpful, as families then shy away from engaging.
· Continuity of carers for families important – often this is the basis of getting services involved, and can easily be broken when trusted carers move on.
· Disability jargon is intimidating
The key points made regarding accessing Disability Services were:
·Outreach approach is vital – don’t expect families/ people with disability to go to you
· Lack of knowledge about what is available,
· Having an identifiable Aboriginal worker to facilitate access to service vital for families (e.g. Matty’s job at DHS). Particularly important for DHS intake.
· Having a Koori worker dedicated to working with the community to explain the system and engage is critical to getting service access
· Long term planning – Aboriginal families often struggle with this. Need for more immediate help,
· 'Disability’ – not a concept that is known in original languages, definitions and descriptions need to be in plain language.
· Difficult to navigate a system that takes forever to respond – e.g. ECIS services. Families give up.
· 14 years ago when trying to get service there was nothing. Now it’s getting better but still difficult to make the first move.
· Access to Carer’s allowance, mobility allowance from C/W still relatively unknown – Centrelink can assist.
· Often identification of a disability in a family or for an individual in the Aboriginal community comes from ‘outsiders’ who might be familiar. This then can lead to accusations of neglect, which isn’t helpful, as families then shy away from engaging.
· Continuity of carers for families important – often this is the basis of getting services involved, and can easily be broken when trusted carers move on.
· Disability jargon is intimidating
