Family Leadership, A Home of Your Own, and Support for Decision Making

Family leadership, a home of your own, and support for decision-making: three big issues in the lives of people who live with disability.

This event will examine how through family leadership, moving to a home of your own and supported decision-making, we can best ensure a good life for a person living with disability continues into the future.

Brought to you by JFA Purple Orange in partnership with Community Living Project, this free event will be presented by Dr Michael Kendrick, a world leader in disability inclusion. Dr Kendrick will be joined by some families who will share their journeys of helping to find and create a home for and with their loved ones.

Who should attend?

• People living with disability
• Family members, friends and allies of people living with disability
• Advocates, workers and support coordinators
• Others who are interested in safeguarding good lives for individuals with disabilities

About the presenter

Dr Michael Kendrick is well known as an educator, advocate, consultant and author currently based in Nova Scotia, Canada. He worked in government and non-government agencies before becoming a consultant. Michael has been a regular visitor to Australia for over 40 years. He brings an understanding of local and national issues, as well as an international perspective on the issues that people with disability and their supporters face as they strive to live in their community.  You can read more about Michael on his website.

What the event will cover

1. Support for Decision Making

In this part of the event, we will discuss how people making their own decisions and having control in their home is a key aspect of what makes life good. Decision-making is a skill that improves with practice. Genuine choice and control requires an assumption that everyone has the capacity to make decisions for themselves. It is important to acknowledge that we all need help making decisions to some degree but that does not mean we are unable to make choices. After all, how many of us do our own taxes or fix our own cars? Supported decision making recognises that, while many people with disability require assistance in making decisions, it doesn't mean others make decisions for them.

2. Moving to a unique home of your own (not a group home)

In this part of the event, we will discuss how:

• A home is more than just a physical, accessible and affordable space.  Home is about who we are, and how we choose to live in the privacy of our home.
• Home is where we feel grounded, secure, comforted. Where we feel safe to process our thoughts and emotions. A home of our own doesn’t mean living alone. Although it can, most of us seek companionship.
• Home gives us a place for making memories, a place for relationships and to explore who we are.  For all of us, moving into our own home is a rite of passage into adulthood.
• There is no such thing as being completely prepared to live in our own home, as often we don’t learn the skills necessary until we start to live in our own home!

3. Family leadership

Family leadership can lead the change that is needed to build a community in which we are all valued.

Leadership often arises because a person with disability, family, their allies or ordinary citizens see a need or step up because they have a vision of something better. In the final part of the event, we will ask the question, What is leadership, and why should parents care? and look at some common features of leadership.

Other event details

• Tea, coffee and lunch will be provided. You can specify any dietary requirements at check-out.
  
• The venue is accessible. You can specify any additional accessibility requirements at check-out.
  
• Registrations close 5pm Tuesday 15 June, unless booked out prior.
• Any event enquiries can be directed to Georgia Reason via georgiar@juliafarr.org.au or call 08 8373 8388 during business hours.