Family Advocacy

Family Advocacy runs a variety of workshops specifically designed for the family and friends of people with developmental disability. See below for the workshops currently scheduled for this year.

23rd February - Penrith
24th February - Orange
25th February - Parkes
26th February - Dubbo

Are you looking to enhance your ability to stand up for the rights of your family member or friend with developmental disability?

Join us to discuss:

¨ what advocacy is;

¨ why advocacy is needed;

¨ the essential elements of advocacy;

¨ how to advocate;

¨ strategies to work on.

Common examples of when advocacy skills may be used are when a family member is starting school, looking for work, leaving home, seeking medical help or wanting to spend their days in a meaningful way.

The workshop will also provide an opportunity to meet other people from the local area.

30th March - Queanbeyan
31st March - Ulladulla
1st April - Wollongong
2nd April - Sydney

After school - what then? is about preparation and planning for when a student with disability, who will need ongoing support, leaves school.

This is an important workshop if a person with developmental disability in your family:

is leaving school (year 12) in 2009 or
is in years 9, 10 or 11 and you are planning for life after year 12.

The focus of the workshop is on the system of funding and support. It will cover information about Commonwealth and State Government responsibilities as well as those of non government service providers who are approved to support school leavers.

Topics covered will include:

achieving a positive future for young people leaving school
what other young people have achieved with their funding
levels of funding and how it is allocated
the different forms of support arrangements that are available
how to make informed choices about the future
government guidelines and how they affect school leavers.

Morning tea, lunch and materials are provided.

Call for more information or to register on 9869 0666 or 1800 620 588 (Free call for NSW non metro callers).

10th June - Tweed Heads
8th August - Sydney

One of the most common concerns for families is the uncertainty about the future for their family member with disability.This workshop will identify the ways families can plan for and provide a secure future.

It discusses ideas about creating a vision, making a plan and developing a circle of support.

The workshop will be presented by Jeremy Ward who is the parent of three young adults, the eldest of whom has disabilities and requires assistance to live independently. He has many years experience working in advocacy organisations with people with disabilities and families. He is a former member of the Queensland Guardianship and Administration Tribunal.

Jeremy works to help families and people with disability to develop their vision for now and the future, to plan towards making that vision a reality, and to develop ways to safeguard that vision and the individual when the family is no longer able to do so.

Click here to find out about the other events run by Family Advocacy.