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Creating connections for Indigenous people during Disability Action Week
by Kerry Klimm 22 September 2015
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boriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability, their families, friends and carers in Queensland are being encouraged to connect, share and have a voice during Disability Action Week. The annual event aims to empower people with a disability, raising awareness of issues and improve access and inclusion. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disability Network of Queensland (ATSIDNQ) says this is especially important for Indigenous people. ATSIDNQ worker Melissa Ah Wong says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disadvantaged across all social and health indicators. “The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disability Network of Queensland know the challenges, historical and contemporary and how this has impacted on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people.” Latest ABS show Indigenous people were 1.7 times as likely as
Aboriginal people with a disability with family and friends. FACT - 50% of Aboriginal people have some form of disability or long term health condition and this prevalence of disability is more than twice that of the non-indigenous Australians (ABS 2011 Disability and Carers Survey). Image: NACCHO
non-Indigenous people to have a disability. Children aged 0–14 years were more than twice as likely to have a disability. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were nearly three times as likely as non-Indigenous adults to have experienced high to very high psychological distress. “It can also be difficult having a disability and living in a remote or regional community,” she says. “Geographically Queensland is a big state and a lot of our mob live in regional and remote areas with little services.” “Social and cultural connectedness is crucial for greater health and wellbeing and the Network aims to help in this way all across Queensland” Melissa said. Melissa says the Network, as it’s known, is about giving Indigenous people with a disability, their family and friends an avenue to discuss issues that matter to them”. “Members receive newsletters and gain information about issues which effect Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities” “Sharing of the members views is also encouraged and crucial for Network staff making government submissions or when attending meetings and conferences.” “The more members we have the stronger the network and members voices will become. So we’re really encouraging people to take advantage of our free membership”. ATSIDNQ Founding Member Willie Prince says the Network is there to support our own people. “We started it because there was a need for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities to be heard. To help educate not only other people such as government and community, but also to help own people to understand what was disability and that they could actually have a voice to speak out.” If you want to learn more about the Network, the team will be at a number of events during Disability Action Week. For more information email atsidnq@qada.org.au
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