newsability - Ability Incorporated Advocacy Service

NEWSABILITY
SUMMER ISSUE
2014
Inside this newsletter:

Ability Inc. Advocacy Get-Together

Cooking Corner

Thought of the Day

Joke of the Day

New Programs

Update Your Information
www.abilityincorporated.org.au
Ability Inc Get-together October 2014
Hello All,
Our Get-Together this year was a great success. I would like to thank the staff at
Lennox Head Sport & Rec for exceeding our expectations with their service, humour
and assistance. I would also like to thank the support staff that assisted with daily duties, at meal times, with chairs and setting up, and the fantastic staff from Nambucca
Valley Disability Services that did a great job on the decorations, well done.
As always there have been lots of photos taken, and included in this newsletter are just
a few, the remainder can be located on our website on www.abilityincorporated.org.au.
A big thank you to My Choice Matter presenter—Jess , Byron Bay Her Nursery—
Nick, Laughing Yoga—Paulette, Self Advocacy Sydney—Julie & Stephen, Ability
Links—Gordon, our evening entertainers Happy Daze Karaoke and DJ Jam—Josh.
All the unseen people who make it possible, the participant organisation staff and support workers, we couldn’t do it without you, so once again thanks to all and we hope to
see you next year.
Donna
www.abilityincorporated.org.au
www.abilityincorporated.org.au
Cooking Corner
Easy Chicken Pie
Ingredients:300gms chicken thigh fillets (cut into small cubes)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 sheets puff pastry
1 carrot
1onion
1 leak
1/2 cup frozen peas
Method:Heat Oven to 180 deg. In a 20 cm pie plate, place 1 pc puff pastry
and blind bake the bottom sheet for 5-10 mins. Just long enough to
let puff pastry start to puff.
Whist the pastry is cooking, slice up carrot, onion and leak and
sauté until soft, take off heat.
Brown chicken in the same pan, then add can of mushroom soup,
bring to boil, add sautéd vegies + peas, mix then fill into pie plate.
Cover with puff pasty, bake until golden brown (20 mins )
Thought of the Day
Joke of the day
Q.What do you call a donkey with 3 legs?
A. A wonky
Ability Inc Advocacy Service
What we do and who we are
I n d i v i d u a l
d i s a b i l i t y ,
i n g
a d v o c a t e s
t h e i r
c a n
f a m i l y
o r
h e l p
a
c a r e r
p e r s o n
i n
t h e
w i t h
a
f o l l o w -
w a y s :

Advocating one-on-one with the person with disability

Speaking on behalf of a person at meetings and on the phone

Providing information and developing a plan of action in partnership with that person

Directly deal with a landlord and services on your behalf ( this may be regarding rent
arrears, or a dispute with your service providers, abuse or neglect )

Provide non-legal support at court and tenancy tribunal hearings

Support with a legal issue by arranging an appointment for legal advice with a Solicitor, and attending the meeting

Meeting and negotiating with service providers for a better deal

Support with dealing with Family and Community Services ( removal of children matters and contact )

Assistance with preparing guardianship and financial management applications to the
Guardianship Tribunal and non-legal representation at Guardianship Tribunal Hearings

Assistance with problems at work, attend school meetings, TAFE or Uni etc

Discussing a problem with your advocate can result in helping to think through options
for moving forward
www.abilityincorporated.org.au

Supporting an individual to make a formal complaint involving disability discrimination against your employer or school ( e.g. assisting by lodging a
complaint to the Human Rights Commission or Anti-Discrimination Board.

Debts -negotiate with creditors on your behalf to enter into a repayment plan
or apply for a waiver of debt ( excessive mobile phone bill, rent arrears,
credit card debts etc )

Centrelink matters, including correspondence nominee or appeals
We welcome people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds ( CALD ) , and Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders with disability.
Who can make a referral?
Any person with a disability, family member or carer whose fundamental needs are
not being met can access the service. We advocate for people with physical disability, intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, neurological disability ( sensory,
epilepsy ) , autism spectrum disorders, or a combination of such, and psychiatric
( P TSD, depression ) .
Ability Inc. welcomes parents and service providers to seek information and support
whenever needed. Referrals can be made by ringing us yourself, instructing another service to ring us on your behalf or asking your family or carer to help you
contact us.. Please check out our website for a blank referral or call us.
www.abilityincorporated.org.au
New Programs
All parents and caregivers of children with a disability are being invited to have their say
about a new parenting support project led by the University of Sydney’s Professor Stewart
Einfeld.
From early 2015, free Stepping Stones Triple P programs will be available for parents and
caregivers of children with a disability or developmental delay through the Stepping Stones
Triple P (SSTP) Project. The evidence-based Stepping Stones programs are specially tailored for families of children with a disability and introduce a range of strategies to encourage positive behaviour, new skill development, and help to manage more challenging behaviour. The programs will be rolled out across NSW over a two year period.
To start the project, every NSW parent or caregiver of a child with a disability or developmental delay, aged 2 to 10 years, is invited to share their story via an online survey. Have
your say by telling the research team what highlights and challenges your family experiences, what parenting support you need, and how the research team can help. Your views
will be used to plan the roll out of parenting programs.
Visit www.mysay.org.au to fill in the survey and register your interest in free parenting
support.
For further information, contact the NSW research team
at [email protected] or +61 2 9114 4060. You can also visit and ‘like’ our
Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SteppingStonesTriplePProject.
www.abilityincorporated.org.au
New Standards for Advocacy Agencies
National Standards for Disability
Services
Rights: The service promotes individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making and actively
prevents abuse, harm, neglect and violence.
Participation and Inclusion: The service works with individuals and
families, friends and carers to promote opportunities for meaningful participation and active inclusion in society.
Individual Outcomes: Services and supports are assessed,
planned, delivered and reviewed to build on individual strengths
and enable individuals to reach their goals.
Feedback and Complaints: Regular feedback is sought and used
to inform individual and organisation-wide service reviews and improvement.
Service Access: The service manages access, commencement and
leaving a service in a transparent, fair, equal and responsive way.
Service Management: The service has effective and accountable
service management and leadership to maximise outcomes for individuals.
www.abilityincorporated.org.au
Ability Incorporated Advocacy Service
Contact
Alstonville
Us
Office
Phone: 6628 8188 Toll Free: 1800 657961 Fax: 6628 8199
Postal address: P.O. Box 417, Alstonville. NSW 2477
Manager
Doug Hollingworth: Email: [email protected]
Advocate &Training Officer
Gerard Dunlop: Email: [email protected]
Advocate
Julia Clancy: Email: [email protected]
Administration Officer
Donna Marsh: Email: [email protected]
Tweed Advocate & Training Officer
Angela Collins: Phone: 6672 6119 Fax: 6672 7119
P.O. Box 13, Condong. NSW 2484
Email: [email protected]
Clarence Valley Advocate & Training Officer
Hajar Ismail: Phone: 6645 8136 Fax: 6645 8135
P.O. Box 78, Yamba. NSW 2464
Email: [email protected]