IHC: what it’s all about Who is IHC? What is IHC? What is IDEA Services? Confused? Since IDEA Services emerged in 2005 a lot of people are. This might clear up the confusion. IHC is a organisation based on national membership but with links to local communities through a network of associations. IHC has four distinct parts. IHC Membership and Governance, and the operations: • IHC Programmes • IHC Properties • IDEA Services 1. IHC members are like shareholders in a corporation. They are represented at the local level through their local IHC Association. The association’s roles include
maintaining the profile of IHC, building networks, local advocacy and support, local fundraising and supporting people with an intellectual disability to speak with a strong voice. IHC’s philosophy and policy is decided at the AGM. Members elect IHC’s Board of Governance. 2. IHC Programmes oversee IHC’s community based charitable work Advocacy, self-advocacy, volunteering, membership support and fundraising. They work with or for anyone in New Zealand with an intellectual disability and their family to enable the person with the disability live as full citizens IHC Programmes receives no money from government; its activities rely entirely on fundraised money. 3. IHC Properties manages the
$240million + property portfolio that IHC has accumulated over the decades along, with its rental properties. These properties house residential services, vocational and day-services and family-whanau services. 4. IDEA Services Ltd is a wholly IHCowned service provider and is the service arm of IHC. While it gets the most press it provides services to less than 14% of intellectually disabled people. Despite this it is still the largest national provider of services. Government contracts with IDEA Services are in excess of $200M per annum. This equals 85% of the value of the services IDEA delivers. Service-user contributions make up the other 15%. Eligibility for services is determined by the Ministry of Health through their needs assessment and service co-ordination (NASC) agencies. IDEA Services can only provide services for which it is funded, as determined by NASC eligibility. As a recipient of government funds those services are regularly audited.
I H C W ellin g to n a n d h u tt va lle y Ass o ci ati o ns
NEWSLETTER I HC Wellington
on Facebook “Arrgh! I hear many of you say. I won’t be joining that so why did you bother?” Well, because the Association thinks Facebook
Round the Bays
au t u m n 2 010
The Wellington Association’s gym scheme continues to be popular. The Association is delighted in the interest from people with intellectual disabilities who aren’t IDEA Services clients and a number have joined. Several have come from the disability support group Community Connections. The latest edition of Community Moves, the IHC New Zealand magazine, features an article about them.
a better way of keeping in touch with you. It mightn’t be the best way, but it’s a good way to start. As we can only publish our newsletters quarterly there’s a lot of time in between to be out
Holiday Programme
of touch and we prefer to stay in touch. (But look out for our website coming soon).
This summer small groups of teens and young people spent their days hanging out and doing the things that other young people do. And, much to their delight, many of them got to choose
Introducing:
what they wanted to do each day.
Hi, my name is Gordon Cameron and I am the new Chair of the Wellington Association. I have been on the committee for five years.
Despite the variable Wellington weather a lot of water activities were on the agenda. The bungie at Frank Kitts Park was a hit with some of the more physical guys. The young women enjoyed checking out the styles at clothes shops and were able to make small purchases at second hand shops. This made their day! Naturally coffee-shops were a big hit with many of the teens. Chipmunks in Porirua was a surprising success and, of course the good old croc bikes around the waterfront have become a regular feature of this programme.
I am the father of two delightful boys. My older boy Conrad (who just turned 11) is severely autistic. No doubt like many of you we have been involved with numerous agencies for issues ranging from health to education, behaviour support and family support. IDEA Services has offered us assistance in all areas and has been our main provider of respite services, for which we are very grateful. My motivation for being on the Wellington Association stems from wanting to improve services for our children . I think, based on my experience, that there are opportunities for improvement from all suppliers. I also want to network with other families for mutual support. I know that by pooling and sharing our knowledge and experiences and working together we can make life a lot better and easier for or disabled family members, our families and one-another.
One group of young women had to be ‘rescued’ from Moa Point when they got off the bus at the wrong stop, but this was simply a good teen experience. They got to stretch their muscles meandering around the South Coast on a glorious day. Programmes also ran for children and young adults who require more individual support. All in all it was a real success. It was well staffed, and some support staff were more like buddies than carers. The financial support from the IHC Wellington Association for activity funds made much of this possible.
We hope you’ll join us on Facebook so you can share with your friends, and then maybe they’ll share with their friends who’ll share . . . That’s how these social networks work. Facebook isn’t about how many friends you have, it’s about what you share with them. If you’ve been following the recent campaign to save Radio New Zealand from cutbacks you’ll know how influential it has been in spreading the word and galvanising support. Join us and tell your friends. This isn’t just for Wellington and Hutt IHC association members, it’s for anyone interested in intellectual disability. Follow us on Facebook at IHCWellington.
Contact us:
Wellington IHC Association, PO Box 9266, Marion Street, Wellington Email: ihcwellington@gmail.com Phone: 04 389 0924 Editor: Trish Anderson
Round the Bays: Walter & Ian with Ian’s support worker for the day
The fitness thing has really caught on with the Community Connections crowd, and with the support of Westpac several people took part in the recent ‘Round the Bays’ event. For four of them this was the second time they have competed and all were keen to better their previous times. This is a great event, and a wonderful opportunity for people of all abilities to participate in a safe flat walk. The Community Connections group were lucky enough to have some Para Olympians showing them how it is done. They had such fun they’re looking forward to next year’s event. Anybody in the vicinity of Club Active at the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre should look out for them in their Westpac Halberg red tops and ask them about the race. They’d love to tell you about it. As we go to print, another of our Club Active members has just finished riding the Otago Central Rail Trail. More about that next time.
Party like it’s 2009
A journey from school to day services
Christmas spirit was in the air with Christmas functions in both Wellington and the Hutt.
Helena Faherty began planning for her son Adrian’s transition from
About 60 people came to the IHC Wellington Christmas Function on 21 December. Free drinks and smiling faces welcomed guests to party central, aka The Southern Cross in Te Aro.
school when Adrian was 14.
last minute,” says Helena. Adrian is now 21 and lives at home with his family. He left Kimi Ora school at the end of 2009. But even with all those years of thinking and planning, nothing prepared Helena for the reality that is ‘life after school‘ for people with intellectual disabilities. Going from being an ORRSfunded (Ongoing Reviewable Resourcing Scheme) very high needs pupil to receiving just 13 hours of day programmes a week has been quite a change for both Helena and Adrian.
Meanwhile in Lower Hutt folks at the Christie Centre day base hosted a karaoke day. Invitations were extended across the Wellington region and people came from all over, including IDEA Services art houses, Upper Hutt Valley Gardens, New Zealand Care, the Dawn Trust and Wellington IDEA day bases. Just look at these photos to see how much fun they all had. Of course singing at the top of your voice makes you hungry and thirsty so naturally a sausage sizzle and drinks were on hand to sustain these budding stars. This great day was supported by the IHC Hutt Association.
Government against payments to parent caregivers: We all love our children and
support. If you provide that support either because you genuinely want to or because you have had bad experiences with paid caregivers the government says you should not be paid because it is a natural part of family life. Misa asks “Do we think parental duty extends to the kind of round-theclock care that most parents leave behind when their children outgrow kindy? Is it natural to still be wiping your child’s bottom at 40?”.
most of us want them to leave home and become independent when they are adults. For some families this is simply not a reality. Tapa Misa wrote eloquently about this recently in the New Zealand Herald. Read the full article on the IHC Wellington Facebook page. family members is a natural part of family life and a duty. To most people this sounds perfectly reasonable, indeed when healthy, able-bodied children grow up and leave home a certain amount of caring and nurturing still goes on. But when your child with a disability grows up. They may not be able to live independently and may require ongoing
Adrian is settling well into his new life. He’s enjoying the time at Park Rd and has made new friends. According to Helena he had a wonderful time at the schools he attended and has come out ready to be an adult. But she is concerned that there is a new group of young people with very high needs leaving school, going into their communities and there isn’t the funding or the services available to support them.
“I knew not to leave it all till the
No one went home hungry as the Southern Cross laid on a 3 course meal, followed by an evening of moving and grooving to the beat. With friends, full stomachs and fun on the dance floor, who could ask for more? IHC Wellington Association is proud to have provided this fabulous evening.
Seven families for whom that vision isn’t a reality took a case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal. They say the Ministry of Health discriminated against them by not paying them to care for their disabled adult children, when it would have paid strangers to provide the same care. The Ministry responded saying, among other things, that in New Zealand caring for
pay as much as $20 (including a booking fee) for a one-way trip from our home in Hataitai to Miramar,” she says.
The Human Rights Review Tribunal decided it wasn’t, and said that the families were being discriminated against but the government disagrees and has appealed the decision.
Where to from here? This will likely be a long, drawn out affair but informed public debate is crucial. Both the Human Rights Commission (www.hrc. co.nz) and Carers New Zealand (www. carers.net.net.nz) invite comment.
Helena engaged a transition facilitator, available through government funding, to help her plan Adrian’s transition. Together they organised ahead for Adrian’s equipment needs (he has a wheelchair, standing frame and pacer). “I also wanted Adrian to try a few things before he left school,” says Helena. So as part of his transition planning, and with support from Kimi Ora, Adrian attended a few sessions at Ace House (run by the Wellington Aftercare Association) and got some job experience at a second-hand shop in Karori. Helena looked at several IDEA Services bases in the wider Wellington region as well. Adrian likes getting out into his community so being close to a retail hub is important for him. And there’s also transport to consider. “Transport becomes the family’s responsibility once school ends,” Helena says. A bout of illness last year made her realise how dependent her family were
on her, and if she was out of action then Adrian’s out-of -home life comes to a standstill. With all these things in mind she decided on the IDEA Services centre in Park Road Miramar. Day service providers receive just $17,000 per annum from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to provide services for someone who had very high needs ORRS funding at school. IDEA Services translates that into 13 hours a week of services. Helena wanted to use this over two and a half days to make the most efficient use of her time. But she ran into problems because, she says, the MSD contract required that the hours be spread over five days. Fortunately IDEA were able to negotiate this and Adrian goes to Park Road for five hours on Monday and Wednesday and three hours on Friday. Helena drives Adrian there and picks him up. She says that mobility taxis aren’t necessarily a reliable option because his start time coincides with school runs when most wheelchair-accessible taxis are on school runs. “Even if we could get a taxi, we might
Introducing:
Helena thinks that people who are still living at home when they leave school are caught between government agencies and there’s a gap because no agency is responsible for the whole life of a person. She stresses the importance of planning ahead, but warns that planning doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get what you hope for.
get into an IDEA school holiday programme. We were fortunate to be able to continue using this service as our son was already in the system. I work full time and am acutely aware how disadvantaged parents who work full time and have a child with a disability are.
Hi, my name is Kirsty Fraser and I am in my second year as the Hutt Valley’s IHC Association Chair. I am married to Michael and we have a 21 year old daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Dion. My interests include going to the gym, gardening, and reading. Dion is 19 and attends Hutt Valley High School Learning Support Unit. He is in his last year at school and is one of many leaving school this year. We have begun looking at the options for him next year.
Helena is unsure how long she will be able to continue to manage. The family tried to get some extra support hours from her Needs Assessment (NASC) agency to help Adrian get additional hours at the day service but funding for this is not available. If a person lives in a residential service funded by the Ministry of Health then the residential provider is obliged to provide support 24 hours a day. If they live at home additional funding for vocational support is only available if the person needs oneon-one support. Additional support hours outside of day service is at the NASC’s discretion. “My feeling is that I can only continue to do this for a few months”, she says. “Adrian was awake for 96 hours last week and we were apart for only 13.”
One of the greatest disappointments I have had during my time on the committee is that young children haven’t been able to
On a lighter note, I’d love to be able to profile one of the people living in the residential houses each quarter so that we can use this newsletter to highlight the positive aspects of living in group houses. CSMS if you are reading this, please contact me.