Knowledge and connections improve disability support
The Diversity Works team
Disabled people and their families/whānau often depend on paid carers for their basic and wellbeing needs. A new initiative from the Diversityworks Trust aims to enrich these relationships by empowering disabled people to manage this support more effectively.
Social entrepreneur and Diversityworks director Philip Patston sees it this way: “In New Zealand, professionals are trained to work with disabled people, but we don’t train disabled people to manage those who support them so their needs are met appropriately and respectfully,” he says.
Philip and his team are planning an online resource (at www.disability.net.nz) that will help disabled people and their families/whānau to solve problems and share solutions to improve the effectiveness of disability support services. “It will help create a culture where disabled people have the confidence and ability to manage their disability support – and to participate and contribute fully in their communities.”
The Diversityworks team promotes the concept of ‘functional diversity’, where differences in function are seen as part of our natural diversity. Improving disability support effectiveness is one step towards this, and the Todd Foundation’s support will help make this step a reality.
