By JESSE GRAHAM
AN INFORMATION session on the National Disability Insurance Scheme brought a full room of residents to the Healesville Memorial Hall last week to hear about how the scheme will impact them.
Organised by disability services advocacy group, Healesville Connections, the NDIS information session and community forum filled out the Nan Francis room at the Memorial Hall on Thursday 18 June.
Disability service provider, Yooralla, had representatives on the day to answer questions about the NDIS and how it would impact the lives of local people living with disabilities, as well as their families and carers.
Eastern Health’s Janelle Arnold said the questions that should be asked of locals during the NDIS rollout next year is what services do they access, and what services do they need to achieve their goals?
“They want people to consider what services they’re already accessing, and what are their life goals and what do they think they need support doing, so they can meet their life goals,” she said.
“Dream about what you want your life to look like, then consider what you need to have to get there.
“That’s where NDIS has fallen down – where people haven’t come prepared with that when they’ve tried to go into the system, so they don’t get the full benefits.”
Ms Arnold said the NDIS would cover people with a disability from birth throughout their lives, though it has an access cut-off once a person is older than 65.
Kathy Cameron, one of the drivers of the Healesville Connections group, said the NDIS would also do away with reviews of disability, meaning families would not have to prove the existence of a continuing disability.
“The reviews that families are under are insulting,” she said.
“We’re never going to be challenged again, that we’re freeloaders or something – it’s ghastly, it’s insulting.”
Eastern Health, Eastern Access Community Health (EACH), Yarra Ranges Council and a number of other groups and organisations were represented at the meeting.
Healesville Connections was established with a steering group in November last year, aiming to improve quality of life for people with disabilities and their families, in preparation for the NDIS rollout.
The group also aims to share ideas and knowledge on issues for people with disabilities and their families in the area.
For more information on the group, visit www.Facebook.com/healesvilleconnections.
