The Only Way is Up: Building through Connection
Living with a disability can sometimes feel lonely, especially when the necessary support isn’t in place yet. The new disability service system is changing lives now and ensuring a future of inclusion, independence and empowerment. In a city as unique and diverse as Sydney, these things are not merely aspirational, but are being lived every day by support workers, health practitioners, families and participants of the disability support system alike.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides essential funding, with a range of supports to facilitate your access to services, including health and community activities, to improve your health and well-being. However, beyond the funding itself, the NDIS funds the service provided to participants that connect them with, not just experiences but connection to community opportunities and holistic health care as well.
Let’s look at how community focused disability support and services in Sydney is not only working to assist with functional needs, but is also supporting people’s journeys to building relationships and learning new skills, while ultimately helping people feel that they are valued in their worlds.
What is Community Support
Community support is about providing support services to people with disabilities to facilitate full participation in everyday life. Whether that means taking up recreational opportunities, joining social groups, accessing educational opportunities or even learning to navigate the city independently and safely.
For many participants, the way they become active in the community cannot only improve their mental health, but also their confidence and emotional wellbeing. This is about more than attending appointments and classes. It is about being active in society (and contributing to it) in a variety of ways.
Community access support is flexible and meets the individuals’ needs and preferences. Community access can include a gym membership, going to a museum, attending a cooking class, or volunteering with a local Organisation, or anything else that works on increasing quality of life through being active.
The professional support people that assist participants’ with this service are trained to provide support and individual encouragement. These workers assist participants develop personal goals, identify physical or emotional barriers and grow their independence.
The Role of Support Workers in Social Participation
Most of the work that support workers do is meshed and intertwined between participants and communities. Support work is also always person-centred; this means the support is designed and will change and adapt as the participants’ needs and interests evolve.
Some of the day-to-day responsibilities include:
- Accompanying participants as they visit community activities such as markets, social clubs or events
- Providing support (in the form of guided interaction and confidence-building) to develop social skills
- Supporting participants in transportation and mobility needs for safely getting from A to B
- Supporting participants with scheduling and organisation, so the activity is planned and within the participant’s manageability
- Providing emotional support when participants are faced with challenges and new experiences.
These day-to-day interactions are key to normalizing participation enabling people with disabilities to feel that they are part of the whole community.
Health & Wellbeing Outside of the Clinic
People with disabilities require healthcare support beyond medical appointments, in everyday life. This is where community based health services can connect the individual with their care in a comfortable, familiar, and respectful way.
Community health services can include allied health visits, wound care, medication management, and health education sessions conducted in participant’s homes or community/mainstream centres. For someone with a chronic condition (and/or mobility limitations), community health services can provide a more community-based, consistent approach to health management.
A frequently overlooked but critical player in this ecosystem is the community nursing Sydney teams that supply clinical services in the participant’s home or community. Community nursing services vary and can provide everything from continence care to post-hospitalisation care, chronic disease management to palliative care. Their contributions not only provide clinical care to assist the participant’s physical health but also to assist the individual to maintain their control of the routines, environmental context and comfort.
Connectedness to Culture and Identity
Cultural safety needs to be part of the design and service delivery aspects of disability support. Individuals from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds or individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ generally encounter additional barriers to receiving respectful and relevant services. Inclusive community access services consider the differences in participant’s identity and values, and can provide services and support that are not only accessible, but relevant to the individual. This may involve supporting a participant to connect with culturally appropriate support workers, transport to community activities that are beneficial to connection, or connecting the participant to peer support networks with similar experiences.
Culturally responsive services help build participants’ ability to continue the connection to their culture, identifying, and language, and was evidence of their emotional and social wellbeing at least in part.
Involvement of Family and informal Carers
The family support network and others who provide informal care are individuals who directly support the everyday lives of people with disability, in addition to providing emotional and physical care. However, their engagement in decision-making, planning, and advocating for the complete participation of people with disabilities is key to the person with disability’s success.
High-quality disability services acknowledge this interaction, and they work with caregivers in developing support arrangements that create an experience of trust and consistency. Similarly when participating together in shared activities in the community, family members may accompany participants or provide support to develop their social confidence over time.
Many organisations provide respite services so the caregiver can have some rest knowing that their loved one is continuing to have enriching experiences.
Further, the investment of the family members is balanced with professional commitments to the overall well-being of the participant.
Technology and Community Inclusion
Technology has become a powerful enabler of access for people with disabilities to be able to participate in a community in real-time or during virtual experiences. Digital tools like mobility apps, communication applications, and social community platforms are improving the chances for people with disabilities to easily connect, explore, and engage in their preferred upbringing or interaction.
Video calls and workshops make it possible for people who are home-bound to continue their engagement, and GPS-enabled transport apps facilitate access to these communities by making it easier to navigate public transport in Sydney. Social media and online forums provide opportunities for peer-based interactivity and connections for sharing information.
As digital literacy among participants improves, technology is here to stay as a primary source of connection in the community, which is important in a community with access to tools and digital literacy like Sydney.
Exploring the NDIS for Community Access
Knowing what supports are available, and how to access and engage with them under the NDIS can seem daunting initially. Participants and families may wish to start by identifying their goals, whether they are social, recreational, or capacity based, and talk about them in their planning meeting with NDIS personnel.
Once goals have been defined and processed, they can relate them to support categories, such as Core Supports (e.g., assistance with Social or Community Participation) or Capacity Building Supports (e.g., Capacity Building Supports under Life Skills or Community Engagement).
There is a huge range of services available for participants in Sydney as there are many local supporters with experience in helping people maximise their NDIS community access Sydney opportunities. These community organisations provide not just services, but they also assist in understanding how to use your NDIS plan to provide more flexibility and structure.
Final Thought: Creating a More Connected Sydney
Community is not just a location; it is a sense of belonging, safety, and contribution. For individuals with disabilities, being able to access and participate in their community is one of the most important aspects of being alive. Whether it’s a walk in the park, dancing class, access to home nursing, or attending a cultural event, each experience contributes to their sense of coming from and belonging.
With help from support workers, family, health workers, and advocacy groups, Sydney continues on the journey to becoming a more inclusive, supportive, and empowering city. A city where everyone, regardless of ability, can be embraced, recognised, and celebrated.
Michael Caine