Disability
ADVOCACY
NSW Advocacy programs are at great risk of losing their funding. At present we have been allocated funding until 31st December 2021 whilst the NSW Government roll out the tender process for ongoing Advocacy funding. If you have used CAWS Advocacy services and wish to express the value it has had in your life please contact us at claurie@caws.com.au or ring the manager, Chris Laurie on 0416 050 693.
Alternatively you can check out our campaign to retain funding at https://standbyme.org.au/
Stand By Me is a campaign run by the NSW Disability Advocacy Alliance. We are a group of disability advocacy, information and peak representative organisations that empower people with a disability to have a voice. The NSW Government have funded us until December this year and then we don't know what will happen, and we are fighting so that we can continue to protect and uphold the rights of people with disability.
INDIVIDUAL ADVOCACY
This program is funded by NSW Communities & Justice, Transitional Advocacy Funding Supplement and is a free program to people with a disability in Western Sydney
CAWS believe that people with a disability have the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else that lives in the community. We take an active role in the communities of Western and South West Sydney to ensure that the people we support are treated with dignity and respect and that they are valued as full members of their communities with skills, experiences and personal qualities that contribute to the community in a positive way.
Any person who has a disability can request assistance with an Advocacy issue by calling 02 9893 8210 or sending an email to office@caws.com.au
We can assist with a variety of advocacy matters and where we feel that another organisation would be a better option we will refer to that agency. People come to us with many advocacy requests, we can provide a professional that can advocate directly on behalf of a person or assist them to advocate for themselves.
Some of the issues we have been asked to assist with include but are not limited to:
- Gaining access to the NDIS
- Finding suitable accommodation or managing problems with current accommodation
- Navigating Centrelink issues
- End of life planning and support including accessing help to complete a will
- Access to mainstream services
- Guardianship and financial management orders
- Problems at work, school or other educational facilities
- Support within the legal system such as providing support with police interviews, attending court or help to access an appropriate legal professional
- Discrimination
CITIZEN ADVOCACY
This program is funded by NSW Communities & Justice, Transitional Advocacy Funding Supplement and is a free service to all people with an intellectual disability in Western Sydney
This program is for people with an intellectual disability who have limited or no family support and are isolated within their community. Citizen Advocacy is a program that supports a volunteer who has been recruited, screened and trained to support a person with an intellectual disability that has an advocacy issue, this often turns into a long term friendship. The person with a disability commences with CAWS when they need an advocate to support them with a particular issue. We match people with similar interests who live in the same local area.
Many of our Citizen Advocates have been friends with a person for between 10 and 30 years and the person with a disability is now a valued member of their extended family. As a participant in this program people find a place to go for Christmas, have people to celebrate their birthday with them and someone to talk to when a problem comes up in their lives.
We always need more volunteers to support people in the community, it is a way to make a big difference to someone’s life and to get to know a new friend. If you think this might be something you would be interested in exploring with us please call Tracy Martinuz or Heidi Hodder on 02 9893 8210 or email tmartinuz@caws.com.au
CAWS TOGETHER WE CAN
This program is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, and is a free program to people with a disability in Western Sydney
This program is a new venture funded through the NDIA Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program. The aim of the program is to allow people with a disability to engage with trained volunteers and a group of 2 or 3 other people with similar interests to find new and exciting social activities to try and to learn how to access those activities independently as a group. Opportunities to holiday with other people is also available without the need to have access to NDIS Social and Community funding. for more information call Heidi Hodder on 02 9893 8210 or email hhodder@caws.com.au
NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme)
NDIS programs all require that you have an NDIS plan with the appropriate funding for the program, if you are not sure if you have that or would like to talk to us about any of our NDIS services you can call 02 9893 8210 or send an email to office@caws.com.au
SUPPORT COORDINATION
Our Support Coordinators will assist you to utilise your plan in a way that maximises outcomes and meets your goals. CAWS works from a platform of Advocacy and this means that your Support Coordinator will consider all aspects of your life and where necessary link you to our Advocacy program for support in areas not addressed by Support Coordination. Any participant engaged with a Support Coordinator is prioritised for Advocacy if required.
PLAN MANAGEMENT
Our Plan Management Team will support you to make the most out of the funds in your NDIS plan. As a Plan Managed participant, you will be able to access services that are not NDIS registered and be more flexible about how you use sections of your plan. Every participant wants something different from their plan management support and to enable this we set out how we will support you in a plan management schedule. Some people want to approve invoices before payment is made, others want us to do it. Some want monthly or quarterly reports and some check everything on their NDIS portal, the choice is yours, we create a schedule that works for you. We provide same or next business day enquiry responses, weekly payments with the option for emergency payments at any time within business hours. At present we do not have an online tracking mechanism but reports can be provided within 24 hours and usually we can provide immediate updates. CAWS will only make payments that are able to be legitimately claimed on the NDIS Portal within the NDIS rules.
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT
Social Educators are engaged to provide individual support to people who have funds in their NDIS plan for this support. Individual support can include:
- Life Skills building in the home such as budgeting, cooking, cleaning, shopping, washing and ironing, gardening and personal care skills
- Domestic Support
- Direct Personal Care
- Recreational Activities either on your own or with one or two other people
- Shopping
- Holiday planning and going on holidays
Our individual support program is yours to design, we will work out exactly what your needs and wants are and design something with you that works. Cancellations can be made up to 24 hours before the time of service and flexibility is always available to you. Where we cannot meet your request, we will work with you to find an alternate option. You get to meet the proposed worker and decide if they are the right match for you and you oversee how you use your time.
GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Art & Craft Group - Thursdays 9am-3pm - Lalor Park Community Hub
CAWS runs a group activity on Thursdays at the Lalor Park Community Hub from 9am – 3pm. At the moment the program is based on Art & Craft. Each semester (Semester 1 is February to June & 2nd Semester is July to December) the group holds a planning day to decide what activities they would like to do.
- Life Skills and Cooking Class - Wednesdays 10am-2pm - Lalor Park Community Hub
CAWS Life Skills and Cooking provides small group cooking on a weekly basis, participants can bring ingredients for a particular healthy recipe that was planned the week before and cook a few servings so that they can take them home to freeze or for their meal over the next few days. The program also provides a good social environment where everyone has a lot of fun.
- Keeping up with technology
This is a program that has been requested to provide support for people with a disability to use their phones to capacity, access to and use of their tablets or any other technology people struggle with. Participants bring their own devices. This program is at an Expression Of Interest stage at present. If you would like to attend this training please call 02 9893 8210 and provide your details to Lindy if this is something you would attend. Day of the week and time have not been set as yet.
