Disability Connect

Our new Disability Housing Navigation Service is addressing barriers that disabled people and their families face in finding a home. So great to connect with people passionate about providing better housing choices through our unique service.

"I've always had lots of admiration for my single mum, who brought me up. She played a major role in my life’s direction, so I know how vital carers and parents can be in the lives of their disabled child." We want our community to know the people behind our work. Many of you may already be familiar with Martine Abel-Williamson, president of the World Blind Union and a board member of several organisations. We’re proud to have her as part of our Disability Connect board, bringing a wealth of experience, especially in advocating for the blind and low vision community. Martine was born blind due to a congenital retinal condition. She grew up in Namibia and South Africa before moving to Auckland in 1996. After she completed her tertiary studies in education and psychology, she began advocating for disability rights at local, national, and international levels. "I joined Disability Connect about 9 years ago. At the time, our chair, Colleen Brown, and I had been working together on Auckland Council-related matters and disability health issues. When she invited me to join the board, I felt honoured, delighted, and confident I could make a difference. Most board members were parents of disabled children, so I knew I could bring a first-hand experience of a disabled person to the table. A hugely memorable moment for me is the launch of our accessible housing report. While housing is such a primary and important field, many don't want to get their hands dirty with it. But when we talk about housing, I can sense the passion around our board table, and truly feel like I belong. I'm proud that we never stand back from tackling the 'too hard' issues. Disability Connect is both a grassroots, as well as a high-level strategic organisation, and that’s what I enjoy." Thank you Martine for your hard work for our disability community - not only on our board, but in the many roles you serve in. Image description: a portrait photo of Martine smiling. She has brunette and red ombre hair, and wears a red necklace, black top and red cardigan.

Choices help disabled people and their families to live the best life possible. We think stipends are a great way to value disabled school leavers looking for work experience.

"The support for disabled people itself doesn't meet that need, and so actually, that budget needs to stretch across all areas of government." The level of unmet need experienced by disabled people and their families in new data from Stats NZ is damning. Our CEO Mike Potter was on 1News last week to share his thoughts on these findings, and the barriers our disability community continue to face. We're saddened but unsurprised to hear that 51% of disabled students have unmet needs, such as learning and behavioural support, speech language therapy, and accessibility. Parents often need to pick their children up from school due to the lack of suitable learning support. And then when the school day ends, there are no accessible recreational options either. So it's no surprise that parents and carers of disabled people are 3 times more likely to experience stress and anxiety. Only 26% of family members who are carers have a job outside of their caregiving responsibilities. The Household Disability Survey was conducted in 2023. Clearly the stress and confusion from the "changes with immediate effect" to Disability Support Services on 18 March 2024, and restrictions on residential housing announced on 15 August 2024, have made this situation even worse. We've never been in more need of a cross-party, cross-government plan to guide disability supports for at least the next 15 years. How else will disabled people and their families have the certainty of services necessary to contribute to the economy and our communities? Access the full news story on the 1News website: https://lnkd.in/gVWMzj4Z Image description: screenshot of a video on the 1News website. In the video, Mike Potter is being interviewed. He has short brunette hair, and wears a blue Disability Connect tshirt. Text above reads "Half a million disabled New Zealanders need more assistance" in large font and "Stats NZ data shows the scope of the challenges faced by those with disabilities in New Zealand today." in smaller font.

"When I go to the bank, I go in hypervigilant, just waiting for that barrage of questions." Denise and Mike Potter were on 1News this week to talk about how tough it is to access banking services in New Zealand. We've been advocating on behalf of disabled people, their parents and whānau to the industry. We're glad to see some progress in Westpac New Zealand's Disability and Inclusion in Banking Report, and their call on other banks to start making improvements too. What changes in banking would have the biggest impact for your family? More customer-facing disabled staff? A debit card or carer card tailored to your needs like they have in the UK? Better education within banks for staff you have to work with? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Watch or read the story here: https://lnkd.in/gp2phv5b Image description: a screenshot of the 1News video story. Denise and her daughter Melissa are sitting on a couch. Denise is showing Melissa two cards. At the top of the screenshot, text reads "Calls to make it easier for people with disabilities to access banking services. A Westpac report found the community encounters a range of barriers on a daily basis."

"I want to help as many people as possible, and fight for the rights of those who can't represent themselves." We want our community to know the people behind Disability Connect. Introducing Steven Yin, one of our board members. "I've spent over two decades in the FMCG industry. After nine years operating Metro New World in Auckland, I now operate a New World supermarket in Matamata. I love my work and enjoy seeing how the business can support communities. I joined the Disability Connect Board as a director about four years ago. The sole reason I joined is because I aligned with their vision and values to help people to live the way they want to live. I wanted to do my part to help achieve that. I worked with Mike, the CEO, in the past. Mike introduced me to Colleen, the Board Chair, and I learnt more about the work Disability Connect did. After hearing about their commitment to helping others and the community, I was truly amazed. To this day, it still motivates me to do better mahi in all areas of work in my life. One of the most memorable experiences I've had so far is when my supermarket helped to deliver the "Kai with Kindness" initiative during the COVID lockdown. We provided food and essential goods packages to families in need. Our staff also wrote and attached messages of support on Post-it notes for each bag. That experience always reminds me of how much need there is within the community. We felt very proud of what we did, and it inspired us to do more. It was heartfelt for us to see firsthand how many people we helped in need." Thank you to Steven for your contributions on our board, as well as funding initiatives like Kai with Kindness. We appreciate how you've reached out with tangible support for those in need. If you haven't seen it already, check out the Stuff article on Kai with Kindness here: https://lnkd.in/gFGeubxE Image description: A headshot of Steven Yin smiling. He's wearing a black suit jacket with a white shirt and black tie. He has short black hair and black framed glasses.

"I entered the world of disability and came to see that disabled people and also their families, are really impacted by a world that is not really designed for them to be able to function as well as they could." Our CEO Mike Potter was recently interviewed on Reality Check radio. He shared his personal journey as a disabled person, what it's like to attend Transition Expo, the impact of the increased demand and need for disability services, and how to ask questions that build friendships with people of difference. Listen to the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gfrBPYVv Image description: a screenshot of the Reality Check website, with a graphic tile featuring radio host Simon O'Connor and Mike Potter. Text reads "Mike Potter, on 'Speak Free' with Simon O'Connor. CEO of Disability Connect on the importance of understanding and navigating the world of disability".

"The Humanly learning conversation was far and away the best EGL (Enabling Good Lives) training I have ever had. Loved the practical tools that made it so much easier to translate what a good life means. Thank you Lisa and Janelle!" - Asoka All of our staff completed Humanly’s Enabling Good Lives (EGL) training in March this year. All of our advisors have also completed or are currently undertaking a Building Inclusive Communities course. Having a disability and/or parenting a disabled child often means navigating a world that doesn't naturally include them or meet their needs. Dedicating our time and resources to these trainings is part of our efforts to be better equipped to serve our communities. Image description: 11 members of the Disability Connect team at the Humanly Enabling Good Lives training in March 2024. They are smiling and either standing or sitting in front of a screen with the text "What's possible!" on it.

To wrap up our popular series, our panel of experts - Dr Hemant Thakkar, Nan Jensen, and Erika Butters - answered questions from families about Succession Planning in an online workshop. They shared practical advice on how to start a succession plan, including strategies for building a circle of support even when resources and natural supports are limited. The panel recommended focusing on the relationships our disabled children already have - such as those at school, with family, support workers, and neighbours. They also suggested fostering connections with people who share common interests with the activities our children enjoy most. Attending events aligned with these interests would help. To protect the privacy of the 30+ whānau who attended, the workshop was not recorded. However, recordings of the first three sessions featuring Dr. Thakkar, Nan, and Erika will be available on our website in January. A huge thank you to Te Pou and Foundation North for funding our Succession Planning series. We’re also planning follow-up webinars next year based on attendee feedback. Be sure to follow our Facebook page for updates! Image description: a screenshot of the online workshop. Nan Jensen, Dr Hemant Thakkar, Mike Potter and Erika Butters smile while having a conversation through Zoom.

"I believe every child (or person) should be seen and loved as the unique individual that they are, regardless of any learning/development difficulties or disabilities that they have." Time to meet the newest member of our team, Julia, one of our Information Advisors/Administrators. Julia is a Mum who believes family comes first. She comes from a varied background, with degrees in Commerce and Law, and several years working in tax. We loved her response to why she applied to work at Disability Connect: "Everyone is amazing with their own personal strengths and deserve the support and resources they need to shine. We need to embrace each other’s uniqueness. I fully support Disability Connect's vision: to help people with disabilities and their families to lead the lives they want. As parents – we probably all want the same thing – for our children to live the best lives they can and be happy." Julia has hit the ground running since she started - you might've heard her eloquent announcements at Transition Expo. "Expo was amazing – first time attending and seeing the number of people come and benefit from the event, the networking, information sharing and the smiles." Welcome Julia! Image description: Julia smiling. She has shoulder length black hair and wears dark framed glasses and a blue Disability Connect shirt.