INFOLINK
CONNECTING YOU WITH DISABILITY INFORMATION
SUMMER
2017
WELCOME We’re very excited to share our Question Time video series made in partnership with Attitude Pictures to promote our Online Information Hub at Life Unlimited. We know that having access to quality information that’s relevant and up-todate can have a big impact on people’s lives. It empowers them to make informed decisions so they can live the life they choose. There are 12 videos in this series of Question Time and another eight in production that we’ll be sharing in the New Year. Find the link to watch all the videos at www.lifeunlimited.net.nz/hub.
IN THIS ISSUE TRANSPORT ESSENTIAL TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY MEET QUESTION TIME STAR DARYA SMALL INDEPENDENT HEARING SERVICE A WINNER FRESH FOCUS FORGARDEN LIFE HAMILTON SENSORY FRIENDS OPENS WHAT'S ON
PUBLISHED BY
• Life Unlimited
CONTACT DETAILS
communications@lifeunlimited.net.nz Freephone 0800 008 011 Facebook lifeunlimitednz YouTube life unlimited Instagram lifeunlimitednz www.lifeunlimited.net.nz Would you like to receive Infolink by email? Just email us at info@lifeunlimited.net.nz and we'll add you to our database.
GOT QUESTIONS? FIND ANSWERS
Ever wondered what it’s like growing older with a disability? Maybe you want to try flatting or you’re planning to go to university and you want to know what it’s like? These are some of the questions Life Unlimited asked people with disabilities in a series of short videos made in partnership with Attitude Pictures. The videos use Attitude’s successful Question Time format with people sharing their experiences living with disability by answering frank questions about life, what’s important to them and their plans for the future. The videos have been created to share useful information about disability in a fun, accessible way from disabled people's own perspectives. The videos also aim to raise awareness about the Online Information Hub available on the Life Unlimited website which is designed to provide reliable disability information to New Zealand communities.
Shakti Krishnan, Eilish Wilkes, John McIntosh and Kimmy Corkin are some of the faces of Question Time.
The Online Information Hub has more than 80 articles developed in consultation with a reference group of disabled people and their families. Subjects include education, wellbeing, employment and financial support. Life Unlimited chief executive Mark Brown said the Online Information Hub had been developing and improving over the past year. “We felt it was important we design an information resource with input from disabled people and their families to provide the sort of information they said they wanted and needed,” said Mr Brown. The development of the Online Information Hub coincides with the transformation of New Zealand's disability support system based on the Enabling Good Lives vision and principles. The co-design group made up of disabled people and representatives from families and support organisations which considered the framework for the system transformation highlighted the need for an information hub. “Although at this stage we don’t know how this vision of an information hub will play out, the Online Information Hub is moving in the right direction and meeting people's needs,” said Mr Brown. In addition to accessing information articles, people can also request information to meet their individual circumstances either by phone, email, on social media or in person at a Life Unlimited Store, located in Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua and Gisborne. “If we don’t know the answer, we will find it or ensure we put people in touch with the people who will know," said Mr Brown. The Question Time videos in addition to the Online Information Hub and the personalised information service provide a rich resource that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere in New Zealand. “Having videos available allows people with disabilities to tell their stories in an easily accessible way which is why we partnered with Attitude Pictures.”
SUMMER
2017
2
INFOLINK
TRANSPORT ESSENTIAL TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY JOHN MCINTOSH A Hamilton initiative aims to identify transport solutions so people with disabilities can access community life, reports John McIntosh. Life Unlimited and Hamilton City Council have hosted two workshops to gather data on public transport options for people living with a disability in Hamilton. The central theme of the project was “people with a disability require transport solutions to live, work and play”. The first workshop invited feedback from people living with a disability. The second involved representatives from a range of public transport providers in Hamilton including bus providers, taxi companies and Waikato Regional Council which runs the accessible BUSIT service and the Total Mobility scheme.
transport options available, whether that's accessible buses, taxis, taxi vans with hoists, companion driving services and health shuttles. Life Unlimited will seek further feedback from public transport providers early in the New Year. If you are a person with a disability and you live, work and play in Hamilton and feel your views would contribute to this project, please email info@lifeunlimited.net.nz and we will contact you early in 2018 to find out what you think about transport options in the city. Visit the Online Information Hub at lifeunlimited.net.nz/hub for articles about accessible transport.
The draft report identified some important issues, including design features in some forms of public transport that are not suitable for people with disabilities and a lack of conveniently located bus stops. The report also recommended gathering more data from a wider range of people living with a disability. This includes those people in Hamilton currently using public transport as well as those who may not be aware what is on offer. We need to know why people are not using the public
MEET QUESTION TIME STAR DARYA SMALL
Darya Small says she’s pleased at how her Question Time video turned out. “I was really proud of myself because it’s not easy to say how I feel and why I have this disability.”
The Online Information Hub on the Life Unlimited website has articles about public transport, help with transport costs, the Total Mobility scheme and mobility parking permits.
Flatting has also allowed Darya to put the skills she’s learned in food technology at school to the test. She shares cooking duties with her flatmate, making things like beef stir-fry, macaroni cheese and pizza. One of Darya’s goals for the future is to travel overseas to the ‘happiest place on Earth’. “I love Disneyland...I want to meet Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Chip and Dale.”
Darya has a learning disability. Between school, StarJam and her involvement with Life Unlimited programmes Life Fit and Life Friends she’s like any typical, busy 19 year old. “I’m having fun. I’m in my last year at school. I do StarJam every Tuesday and I make lots of new friends.” Since recording the video in August, Darya has achieved one of her personal goals. She’s now flatting with a friend in Hamilton. And although she’s still adjusting to life in the city after living on a rural block with her parents, she’s enjoying her new independence. “It’s really good. I have a boyfriend who doesn’t live far away so I pay him a visit. It’s really good because it’s not far from the shops and it’s not far from Countdown.”
Darya Small has achieved her goal of going flatting. Now she dreams of travelling overseas.
Make sure to check out all the Question Time videos, including interviews with Darya Small and John McIntosh. You can find the link on our website www.lifeunlimited.net.nz/hub
SUMMER
2017
3
INFOLINK
FREE HEARING SERVICE SOLVES CYCLIST'S WOES When keen Hamilton e-cyclist Lloyd Morris realised his hearing aids weren’t performing as well as he’d like, he wanted independent advice about what to do next. “My hearing aids just weren’t working so well anymore. They were five years old and they were okay, but I thought I’m starting to miss conversations in small groups. “I couldn’t follow what was going on. Everybody would laugh and so I would think ‘that must have been a joke’ and so I would laugh - but I was faking it. “I didn’t know where to go to get honest advice about hearing aids. Do I need better ones? Are there better ones out there? Where do I go for them?” A quick Google search led Lloyd to Life Unlimited Hearing Therapy, a free national service funded by the Ministry of Health to support New Zealand adults and permanent residents living with hearing loss. While Hearing Therapy does not sell hearing aids, their qualified hearing therapists provide hearing tests and give independent information and advice about hearing aids. They also refer clients to audiologists who can sell and fit hearing aids if the hearing test shows they will help. “Because it was a government-funded, free service and (part of) a non-profit trust, I thought this sounds trustworthy. So I didn’t have any doubts when I came in about the bona fides of the organisation,” says Lloyd.
Keri Opai
Life is better for Lloyd Morris since he got independent advice from Hearing Therapy.
FREE WORKSHOP TO SUPPORT DECISION MAKING
Do you live in Hutt Valley and have experience supporting people with disabilities?
At his appointment with hearing therapist Cherry McWha, Lloyd had one very straight-forward question.
The Life Unlimited Local Area Coordination team is hosting a free workshop in February designed to give people the skills to support others to make decisions and have more control over their life.
“This is what I’ve got. This is my problem. Is there anything I can do about it?”
The workshop will draw on the expertise of IHC Advocacy and Community Law.
Cherry gave Lloyd a hearing evaluation and told him he could benefit from getting some new hearing aids, and what's more he could get a subsidy to buy them.
Places are limited. Email susanw@lifeunlimited.net.nz to register.
Lloyd returned to Hearing Therapy in Palmerston Street, Hamilton on 31 October to thank Cherry and tell her how happy he was with the service he received from Hearing Therapy, and how his new hearing aids have changed his life. “Now I can actually hear. And it was instant when I put them on – these new ones – they’re so much better than the old ones.”
Supporting Decision Making
Lloyd says the new hearing aids have made a “stunning difference”. He can not only hear the environment when out and about on his e-bike, but he also feels more included in social situations.
This free workshop is for anyone with experience supporting people with disability.
“I no longer lose the thread of conversation. I can keep up with my friends at parties and it makes all the difference in my social life.”
•
Lloyd, who is originally from Kansas City, Missouri in the USA, emigrated to New Zealand in 2012 following a career devoted to social housing. New Zealanders are fortunate to have access to free services like Hearing Therapy, he says. “Just one more reason to be happy to be a Kiwi – which I will be at the end of the year.” That’s when Lloyd attends his official New Zealand citizenship ceremony.
Wednesday 7 February, 12.30-4.30pm at Moera Hall, 105 Randwick Crescent, Lower Hutt
• • • • •
Explore what supported decision making is and why we all need to know about it Increase your skills for supporting others to make decisions Share ideas about some of the challenges Build on your knowledge for ensuring the people you support are getting what they need Learn about what it means to be a welfare guardian Learn about the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988.
SUMMER
2017
4
INFOLINK
FRESH FOCUS FOR LIFE FRIENDS Life Unlimited’s friendship programme Life Friends is heading to Fraser High School as part of the continuing adult education programme. Programme coordinator Wendy van den Berg is excited by the move and says it reflects the new focus of the programme to support people to learn “lifelong skills that will enable them to develop meaningful friendships.” The programme aims to help Wendy van den Berg facillitates Life Friends. students identify opportunities to join social groups that match their interests so they can meet people and participate in community life. They will also learn practical skills like making introductions, remembering names and being a good host or guest. There’s also a focus on students identifying their personal goals. “We explore what people would like to get out of the programme. It may be being able to organise a weekend away with friends, or it might simply be gaining the confidence to talk to someone next to them in class. Everyone’s goals are different,” says Wendy.
WHAT'S ON
7 February - Supporting Decision Making Workshop – Lower Hutt A free workshop from 12.30-4.30pm for anyone with experience supporting people with disability. Place are limited. To register email susanw@lifeunlimited.net.nz 14 February - Renew workshop - Tauranga A day of self reflection that will leave you energised, with new family connections, new ideas, hopes and aspirations. Contact Parent to Parent at coastalbop@parent2parent.org.nz 14 February - Life Friends - Hamilton A fortnightly evening programme at Fraser High School where students learn the skills to make friends. Runs until 20 June. Contact wendyb@lifeunlimited.net.nz 19-23 February - Inspiration Voyage - Auckland A five-day voyage that provides an opportunity for physically challenged New Zealanders aged 16-20 to take part in an adventure of a life time. Registrations close soon. Visit www. spiritofadventure.org.nz 1 March – Show Your Ability Expo – Hamilton Annual disability equipment show at Claudelands Event Centre, 9am-3pm. Entry is free. The show also stops in Auckland, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin. Visit www.3am. net.nz 3 March – World Hearing Day The theme for 2018 is Hear the Future and will focus on the projected rise in the prevalence of hearing loss in years ahead.
The programme is interactive and caters to all learning styles with students encouraged to take part in practical exercises like role play and group discussion. “There’s an opportunity for people to share their experiences meeting people and making friends – what has worked for them; what hasn’t worked so well.” The programme concludes with a social outing at the end of the course – like a pot luck dinner or karaoke night – so students can put all their new skills into practice. “Our last group chose to go to the movies. They had to use all the skills they’d learned, like how to negotiate with friends to decide what movie to see at a time that suits everyone. They had to figure out how to make contact with each other and choose where to meet, as well as using the social skills needed to buy a ticket and snacks. “So people get to have fun too while they’re learning all these new skills,” says Wendy. Life Friends is open to anyone over 16 who would like to learn more about where and how to make friends. The next programme begins on 14 February 2018 and will be held fortnightly on Wednesday, 6-7.30pm, over two school terms for a total of eight sessions. Register at www.fraser.school.nz/adult-education or contact wendyb@lifeunlimited.net.nz for more information. 10-11 March – Champion Yours Needs – Gisborne A workshop teaching negotiation, communication and advocacy skills. Contact Ruth from Parent to Parent at rutht@ parent2parent.org.nz 16-18 March - SibCamp - Waikato SibCamps provide a chance for 8 to 18-year-olds, who have a sibling with a disability, to have a fun weekend just for them and to make friends with siblings in similar situations. Contact rutht@parent2parent.org.nz 17 March – TriAbility Triathlon – Lower Hutt An inclusive multi-sport event that supports people of all abilities in a competitive environment. Barrs Reserve in Wainuiomata, 9am-noon. Register at www.sportwainuiomata.com
Get a taste of Para sports at an open day in Tauranga. Photo: Getty Images
25 March - ACC Paralympics Open Day – Tauranga An opportunity to learn about Para sports, get amongst the action and meet a Paralympian. Open Days are free to attend, whether you’re a coach, volunteer, spectator, play for fun, or aim to become a Paralympic superstar! ASB Baypark, 10am-3pm. * While information is correct at date of publication, some changes may occur.