AMIDA Action for More Independence and Dignity in Accommodation Annual Report 2012 Advocacy, Self-Advocacy, Rights, Accessibility, and Community Living for People with a Disability 1st Floor, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000 Telephone: 9650 2722 Fax 9654 8575 Email: amida@amida.org.au Web: www.amida.org.au Cover artwork by Larissa MacFarlane larrissalice@gmail.com AMIDA Annual General Meeting 11th September 2012 AGENDA 10.00 Welcome Present/Apologies Endorsement of new members Minutes of the Previous AGM Chairperson's Report Activities Report – AMIDA advocacy, SARU, ARG Treasurer's Report- endorse auditor and public officer Chair is handed over to Returning Officer (16 vacancies) 11.00 Launch of CD Raising Our Voices. 25 years Strong 12.00 Lunch 1.00 Close of meeting AMIDA - Annual General Meeting 13th September, 2011 Minutes Present: Ray Groves, Norrie Blythman, Koula Sarimichaelidis, Pam Geoghegan, Gabrielle Dickinson, Pauline Williams, Amanda Hiscoe, Heather Tregale, Daisy Serong, John Serong, Cynthia Pilli, Stephen Reidy-Crofts, Anthony Kolmus, David Banfield (Chair), Brenda Lacy, Jane Hauser, Chris Jennings, Sue Smith, John Wakefield, Luke Stone, Esther Harris, Matt Sheean, Phil Grano, Colleen Pearce Apologies: Gillian Meldrum, John Barnett, Neil Cameron, Villamanta, Elizabeth McGarry (Association for Children with a Disability), Peter Waters, Janice Slattery, Colin Hiscoe, Graeme Williams, Sharon Granek, Rosy Furmeister, Chris Scott, Kelly Geoghegan, Julian Dickinson, Kay Forstner, Mary Reid, Nadia Shaw, Shirana Nash, Michael Buckley Minutes of previous AGM: Pauline Williams read the last minutes. “That they be accepted as a true and correct record” Moved: Jane Seconded: Stephen Carried Chairperson’s Report: Presented by David Banfield from Annual Report Vote of thanks to David and Norrie – Cynthia. Amanda commented that 3CR is now 24 years old. Activities Report: Pauline gave activities report for AMIDA, (FaHCSIA), CRU Rights (State government). Sue Smith spoke about SARU. She also thanked lead agency AMIDA and the staff at AMIDA. Treasurers Report: Stephen Reidy-Croft gave report Moved: Stephen Seconded: Cynthia Carried ‘That we appoint Barco and Associates as auditors’ Moved: Stephen Seconded: Amanda Carried ‘That Peter Waters continue as Public Officer’ Moved: Stephen Seconded: Amanda Carried David Banfield handed meeting to Returning Officer, Esther Harris. Esther Harris thanked AMIDA for inviting her to again act as Returning Officer. 16 vacancies – declared vacant 7 nominations on the table: Cynthia Pilli Ray Groves Stephen Reidy-Croft Brenda Lacey David Banfield Norrie Blythman Luke Stone All persons elected Esther called for nominations from the floor to fill the remaining positions. No one nominated from the floor. At the next meeting we can co-opt other members. David will continue as Chairperson until a new Chairperson is elected. David continued with the meeting and introduced the guest speaker, Public Advocate – Colleen Pearce. Colleen spoke about violence against people with disabilities. She then took questions from the floor. Lunch was followed by close of meeting at 1pm. Chairpersons Report Norrie Blythman (Chairperson) This year AMIDA is 31 years old. And we are getting better and better each year. The federal government continue to fund us through the National Disability Advocacy Program. We have also had funding from the State government for the SARU, The United Nations Convention project, and we had more funding to continue training about rights for residents of Group Homes. The Raising Our Voices Radio Show did some training this year and it was very successful. 8 people participated and they learnt all about putting together a radio show, warm up exercises and went into the studio and made some radio. They also learnt about using the portable recorders. Some of our new presenters have already made 2 new shows. Members of our team will be passing their skills on to a group of people with a disability visiting from the Kirabati Islands. We hope to organise more training in the future. Of course we have our Raising Our Voices 25 year strong CD that we will launch at our AGM and if people want copies they can contact AMIDA. We continue to be a part of Disability Advocacy Victoria (DAV), with Norrie Blythman and Gabrielle Dickinson attending as AMIDA representatives. This is our 4th year as lead partner in the SARU - Self Advocacy Resource Unit. The four partners are Start Community Art, AMIDA, Reinforce and Brain Injury Matters. For AMIDA, our role has included managing the finances, employing staff, attending meetings with the funding body and being represented on the Project Management Group. The SARU continues to be a very valuable service! From 13 groups when we started there are now 23 self-advocacy groups with 4 more new ones about to start. Training continues for the “Getting into the Act” DVD on the Disability Act for Self Advocacy Groups. The Act Resources Group (ARG) continues and we have launched the web site and made DVDs about the Disability Act. An iphone application has been finished and a magazine is on the way. Finally, I would like to thank the other Committee members for all their efforts and support throughout the year, and also the workers for the great work they have done. I especially want to remember our friend and long-time committee member David Banfield who passed away in April. David was a strong selfadvocate and would be very proud of all we’ve achieve as I know we all are. Thank you. Norrie Blythman Chairperson AMIDA COMMITTEE MEMBERS Norrie Blythman Chairperson Stephen Reidy-Crofts Deputy Chairperson (Resigned February 2012) Brenda Lacey Treasurer Peter Waters Secretary/Public Officer Kay Forstner Co-Secretary Ray Groves Committee Member Cynthia Pilli Committee Member David Banfield Committee Member (Deceased 1st April 2012) Luke Stone Committee Member (Co-opted) Janice Slattery Committee Member (Co-opted) AMIDA WORKERS Gabrielle Dickinson Housing Rights/Coordinator Pauline Williams Housing Rights/Coordinator Pam Geoghegan Housing Rights Koula Sarimichaelidis Administration/Finance Gab Reade Radio Technical Producer Mary Reid Project Worker CRU Rights Jane Hauser Peer Educator/Advisor Paul Drew Peer Educator/Advisor Amanda Hiscoe Peer Educator/Advisor Nadia Shaw CRU Rights support worker Self Advocacy Resource Unit Sue Smith SARU Project Worker Jacqui Ward SARU Project Worker Jan Coles SARU Project Worker Heidi Peart Conference Support Worker/Project Worker Michael Buckley Film maker and Project Worker ARG Lisa Brumtis Actor/Peer advisor Colin Hiscoe Actor/Peer advisor Peta Ferguson Peer Advisor Neil Cameron Peer Advisor Larissa MacFarlane Peer Advisor Andrew Maurice Peer Advisor Activities Report – 2011/12 Systemic Advocacy Human Rights Charter and Human Rights Convention Despite the fact that Australia has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability we are very far from complying with it in AMIDA’s view. A number of the articles in the Convention relate to people being able to live in the community. Article 19 is the right to live independently and be included in the community choosing where you live and who you live with. In Australia there is no real choice for most people with a disability requiring support. Group homes and Institutions for people with a disability are places where around 15,000 Victorians with a disability live in order to receive needed support. With thousands waiting for a support service, people are forced to accept any vacancy that is offered them. For this reason and many others, AMIDA has endorsed the Shadow report on the UN Convention which lists all the ways Australia fails in its obligations. We continue to lobby for more person centred support provision and housing that is separately managed from needed support. Affordable Housing for people with a disability We have been advocating with the Office of Housing and Community Housing providers for more single occupancy housing which is in extremely high demand. We made a submission to the government on the proposed new State Housing Framework and formed links with allies to argue against planned attacks on public housing rent rates, security of tenure and quality of stock. We also had input to research into the level of risk of homelessness faced by people with a disability. Shut In Campaign This campaign is lobbying to shut all institutions. AMIDA has a representative, Jane Houser, on this campaign group. The campaign has now produced a website with information, and we have produced a live radio show from Federation Square this year. We also advocated that the new guidelines for the Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund be community based and non-institutional. We endorsed the United Nations Shadow report calling for the closure of all institutions in Australia in order to comply with our responsibilities as signatories to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability. We also contributed to the consultation on the State Plan and proposed it be in line with the UN Convention including a Plan to close all institutions in Victoria. Unmet need for housing and support services AMIDA explored in 2 radio shows the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the impact it might have on unmet need. We also sent out information about the NDIS in our newsletter and we attended 2 forums to collect information on it and representatives attended the rally at Federation Square. Improving Supported Accommodation Information gathered in our community education activities is used when lobbying government. We continued to participate in the “Creative Think Tank” about ways to promote best practice in supported accommodation. We worked with Reinforce to produce a training manual for staff and residents in group homes called My House My Home My Rights. We submitted recommendations to government on the draft regulations for the Supported Residential Services and were successful in having some recommendation accepted. Self Advocacy Tenancy Rights We were once again successful in obtaining an extension of funding for our campaign to inform and empower people living in Community Residential Units. Presentations this year continued in group houses, and day services following on from the mail out of around 1000 booklet/DVDs to all the Community Residential Units in Victoria. The DVD explains residential rights, how to ask for your rights and how to get advocacy support. Training has now been provided to an additional 111 residents bring the total number of residents of CRU’s who have participated in the training to 261. These people live at 58 different Community Residential units and the majority of these sessions have taken place in country Victoria. Raising Our Voices radio show 2011/12 has been our 25th year of supporting people with a disability having the opportunity to be involved in the Raising Our Voices radio show on 3CR 855am. This is a self-advocacy activity which gives people the opportunity to air their views, their own stories and also tackles systemic issues. The show goes to air on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6pm and is supported by a dedicated team of broadcasters from Reinforce and AMIDA. Topics this year have included: • Live Radiothon • Reinforce (longest running self advocacy group in Victoria) Update • People First New Zealand • 2012 Strengthening Disability Advocacy Conference • AFDO talks on changes to Disability Support Pension • Every Australian Counts Campaign and the National Disability Insurance Scheme • Live Show from Federation Square on institutions, housing rights in group homes and AFDO’s campaign work • Club Wild – participation and creative expression through music, video and performance • AMIDA’s advocacy update This year we also ran a successful training course to refresh the skills of some of our presenters and introduce some new people to the world of radio. Thanks to everyone who participated and aired issues important to people with a disability. There are always many people with a disability directly involved in the planning, presentation and interviewing for the show. Thanks also to Gab Reade, our wonderful technical producer over the year and to Helen Gwilliam who copresented the training. Thanks also to wonderful 3CR. Copies of the shows are available on CD. Shows can be listened to live on your computer if your radio doesn’t pick up 3CR. Just go to www.3cr.org.au . We also have podcasts of the show on our new website www.amida.org.au . This year we produced a special anniversary CD to celebrate Raising Our Voices, 25 years strong on 3CR 855am. You can get free copies from AMIDA. Information, Advice, Referral and Individual Advocacy During 2011/12 we continued to provide information, advice, referral and individual advocacy to people with a disability. We were able to provide information, advice and referral to 78 people with a disability and community organisations. We provided secondary consultation to 11 services. 145 people were provided with information as part of education sessions including 111 residents of CRU’s. 30 people were provided with direct individual advocacy, family advocacy or self-advocacy support. Networking AMIDA continues with its involvement with Disability Advocacy Victoria (DAV) and has participated in training provided by DARU. The main networking event in the last year was the Strengthening Advocacy Conference which brought together Advocacy and Self –Advocacy groups for 2 days of sharing information, networking and learning. AMIDA made a presentation on how we have worked with self-advocacy and the SARU was an integral part of the planning and organising of the conference. Disseminating information about AMIDA and improving access to AMIDA We again produced 4 newsletters and a special edition on the threat to public housing. We have tried to include important information that we receive from government and the community as well as our own activities. Thanks to all the members who made contributions as these are most welcome. The newsletters are on our web site www.amida.org.au AMIDA website continues to evolve so check it out as we will provide more up to date information on our work and useful information from the community – www.amida.org.au The Self Advocacy Resource Unit The last 12 months have seen a lot of things happening at SARU. This year the SARU joined with DARU and Disability Advocacy Victoria to run the 2nd Strengthening Disability Advocacy Conference. The conference was very successful with lots of great outcomes for selfadvocacy. SARU supported over 70 self-advocates to attend the conference. SARU also ran a self-advocacy stream at the conference. Some of our most popular sessions included “ Strength in Numbers” setting up a Victorian Self Advocacy network, “Nothing About US without Us” People First New Zealand, “Supporting Self Advocacy” a Self-Advocacy Workers Code of Conduct, Reinforce’s “My House, My Home My Rights” presentation, and “Working Together for Change” the selfadvocacy and advocacy working together panel discussion. The feedback we got about the conference was very good. The other great thing to happen because of the conference is that SARU is now supporting members of self-advocacy groups to set up a Victorian Self Advocacy Network. The SARU has also been very busy making new resources for use by self-advocacy groups these resources include four new tool kits about running good groups, lobbying, meetings and communication and a self-advocacy bingo game. Jacqui is also busy making some new resources about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The resources include posters, a DVD, a UNCRPD puzzle book, and a UNCRPD bingo game. This year the SARU also launched the self-advocacy workers Code of Conduct discussion paper and also started a regular two monthly e-memo for people working supporting self-advocacy. We are also excited to announce that there are four new self-advocacy groups about to start in Victoria including a new group in Bendigo and new groups Stawell, Shepparton and Benalla. The next twelve months should be an exciting time for self-advocacy in Victoria. www.saru.net.au Act Resources Group (ARG) Another of the projects AMIDA auspices for the Self Advocacy Re Born Consortium is the Act Resources Group. This group has, with its project worker, Michael Buckley, created information on the Victorian Disability Act 2006 and the rights contained in it, for distribution to the Victorian community. The resource development includes – many DVD’s, and a new website. www.actresources.com.au There is also an iphone and ipad application you can download for free called Be the Boss. Treasurers Report Brenda Lacey AMIDA finished the financial year 2011/12 in a healthy position. Our reports are consolidated into one report as this is now a requirement of Consumer Affairs. The reports show a net profit of $19,734. All of this is committed to existing projects. Retained profits of $387,205 includes one off grants that are being spent over more than one year and other provisions AMIDA continues to receive funding from the Commonwealth Department of Family, Housing Community Services and Indigenous affairs under the National Disability Advocacy Program. We receive funding from the State Department of Human Services through the Office for Disability for the Self Advocacy Resource Unit. This year we received additional funding from the Department of Human Services for the CRU Rights project and the project to develop resources about the United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons with a Disability Overall the financial position of AMIDA, and the projects it supports, is a healthy one and we are in a position to meet all our obligations. AMIDA - CONSOLIDATED ABN 32 993 870 380 ________________________________________________