Episode 42: Inclusion is Fabulous!

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Choice and Control Episode 42

“Inclusion is Fabulous!”

Transcript

0:00  Carers Queensland announcement:  Choice and Control is a podcast celebrating meaningful inclusion of people with disability in our communities, brought to you by Carers Queensland, your NDIS Local area coordination partner in the community. Each episode provides a conversation space for people with disability, their families and carers to share their stories with you. We also hear from members of the wider community, local businesses and community leaders who share information, ideas and possibilities to give you more opportunity and more choice and control in life.

On a fresh winter’s evening on the Sunshine Coast, the LGBTIQA+ community brought Aussie World to life for the annual Mardi Gras Festival.  The night featured performances by a range of talented performers and DJs, show rides and of course, the information tent where a variety of Rainbow organisations sold their wares and spread their news of support and inclusion. The staff of Carers Qld were there, sharing information and chatting to festival goers about our role as a Partner in the Community for the NDIS.

In this episode, I chat to one of our Carers Queensland Rainbow Responders and Local Area Coordinator (LAC) in the community, Jesse, as he recaps the significance of the night for the LGBTIQA+ community. But first up, a live interview from Mardi Gras with mother of two and NDIS participant Rachel as she shares her Rainbow family story.

00:01:41:00 Interviewer (Tracy)     

So I'm here tonight at Mardi Gras. We've got a lot of activity, a lot of lively background sound. And I'm talking to Rachel, who's come up to our Carers Queensland stall…  Rachel, thanks for joining me. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

00:02:00:17 Rachel (interviewee)

Sure. Well, thanks for talking with me. It's lovely to be here this evening at Mardi Gras. So my name's Rachel. I'm a mother of two daughters, both teenagers, and the three of us are on NDIS packages.

00:02:13:00 Interviewer (Tracy)     

And how has the NDIS helped you in your life?

00:02:18:00  Rachel

Oh, it's. It's helped us immeasurably. I'm just on my first plan, having just started in December. My daughters are on their second plans and the support that we now receive has made our lives so much better.

00:02:35:01 Interviewer (Tracy)     

Yeah. Can you tell me some examples of that?

00:02:38:00  Rachel

I’d absolutely love to… so for myself. I have a lot of anxiety and in particular a lot of medical anxiety. So going in to, you know, just getting going to the dentist or going to the doctors will cause me so much stress. And my husband's very, very busy. So I don't always have the opportunity to ask him.  And I don't always want to have to ask him to come with me either. So it's really nice to be able to have I've got some gorgeous support workers in my life who I'm very happy that are working with us as our team. And, you know, I can call them up and say, I've got an appointment and they come along with me. They give me peace of mind and reassurance. They drive me to the appointment so I don't have the added stress of driving the car, finding a car park, all the things that, you know, I would get lost and get really stressed about. So that's just one example. But another example, which I think is sometimes hard to quantify and hard to measure, is that with my children being better supported more so, that actually means that I have the chance to look after myself better.  And any mother of a child with a disability will know that when you're raising children with disabilities, it takes a lot of energy. There's not the downtime, you know, you don't just put the child to bed at 7:00 and then wake up miraculously at 7:00 the next morning. There's a lot of downtime that a lot of hands on time, I'm trying to say whether it be through the day, through the night, you know, there have been periods where I've been completely burnt out as a carer and it's been fantastic just having that support and with my children.

00:04:20:10  Interviewer (Tracy)

Your children are here tonight in their rainbow colours and you're wearing a beautifully colourful rainbow cardy. (thankyou) How important is it for your children and the LGBTIQA+ community to be supported with their disability?

00:04:38:06   Rachel

Oh, I think it's huge. I mean, having a disability, you know, that's hard enough in life as it is in terms of getting the support that you need and getting people to understand what your needs are. You add another level of diversity with the LGB community, which both of my daughters are proud to be a part of, and getting the right support can again be really, really challenging.  So seeing the NDIS here tonight really excites me to see that you're supportive of the community. It excites me to know that my daughters are in safe hands as well and for them to see that NDIS is here, I think that it's a fantastic way to show support for the community, for them to feel safe within the NDIS as well.

00:05:32:18 Interviewer (Tracy)

Do you think there's some barriers in the community that you've come across for LGBTIQA+ teens with disabilities?

00:05:42:00 Rachel

Well, I think there's a lot of misunderstanding. I think there's a lot of discrimination as well in terms of accessibility.

00:05:51:18 Interviewer (Tracy)

And what do you say to your daughters?

00:06:02:16 Rachel

Well, I'll give you an example. My eldest daughter has just started the Gympie Pride Festival in Gympie.   She's just come back from spending some time in Victoria, and thought ‘heck, we don't have anything in Gympie. We need to get started.’ So she's actually part of the Gympie Pride Festival, she's got an amazing team around her because she's like, well, if we don't have a space, I'm going to go out there and create it. So that's, that's what I try and encourage my children to do. You see an opportunity, get out there and make a space for yourself.

00:06:27:00 Interviewer (Tracy)

Yeah, that's fantastic. (Yeah. Yep.) What would you what advice would you have to community organizations who are wanting to be more inclusive?

00:06:33:16 Rachel

Listen, go out there and ask the questions of your members. What do they want? What do they need? I think it's important for any diverse group to be understood. And I think the only way you can do that is by asking the right questions and spending time within that community and finding out what their needs are.

00:06:50:00 Interviewer (Tracy)

What would you like people to understand… what aren’t they hearing?

00:06:57:00 Rachel

I just think people need to be more accepting. I think that's really the word, it is acceptance. You know, you might not be part of the community, you might be part of a different community, but we could all live harmoniously within our own communities. Thank you for talking to me tonight. And happy Mardi Gras. Hey, happy Mardi Gras. Thank you.

00:07:17:19 Carers QLD announcement

As one of the largest local area coordination partners in the community Carers Queensland continues to work every day to build a more diverse and inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong and are valued for who they are. We're proud to be one of the few organizations in Queensland to hold the Rainbow Tick accreditation, leading the way on inclusive and affirming work practices. Carers Queensland has a dedicated email address for LGBTIQA+ people to connect and be supported by one of our friendly Rainbow responders.

Want more information? Connecting with us is easy and safe. Just email rainbow@carersqld.com.au for safe contact with one of our many LGBTIQA+ team members.

00:08:14:22 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

My name is Jesse Grieve. I've been working for Carers Queensland now for six years. It'll be seven next February. My role is the Information Linkage and Capacity building LAC.

00:08:28:17 Interviewer (Tracy)

So how is Carers Queensland role modelling inclusive practices for the LGBTIQA+ community?

00:08:33:00 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

I think that Carers Queensland does a really good job of showcasing our skills around welcoming LGBTQ people. I think that we do a really good job of showing that when we go out into the community and introducing ourselves and explaining what Carers Queensland does and how welcoming we are.

00:09:00:01 Interviewer (Tracy)

Now you're also a Rainbow Responder. Can you tell us about this role and the kinds of support you offer for people seeking access to the NDIS?

00:09:40:00 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

Yeah, definitely. So the Rainbow Responder role is a response to promoting our community footprint and ensuring the safety for those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and need support for themselves, their family members or their friends.  And the support through that role would be an individual who identifies is probably the preference, although we do have plenty of allies on that group who would respond to inquiries to make sure that someone feels safe when going through the inquiry process because you just never know, I guess, who you're going to get on the other end of the phone and knowing that through that role you will get someone who either identifies or is an ally. I think that's really important and it's really good that we hire such a diverse range of people.

00:10:01:08 Interviewer (Tracy)

Now, we were at the Sunshine Coast, Mardi Gras together. Yeah, it was a great night out. And we had quite a few people come up to the stall. You were chatting to a number of people throughout the night. What was some of the common questions you were asked and what advice do you give?

00:11:10:00 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

Yeah, so one question stood out the most and it was how does Carers Queensland support carers? Now that we have the LAC program and the response to that was explaining the kinds of programs that we still have for young people and young carers and adult carers and the way that we would support someone to link to the Carer Gateway and to find other community supports.

00:10:42:08 Interviewer (Tracy)

Carers Queensland offers a range of programs for carers that support their health and wellbeing… coaching to get back into the workforce or pursue more training, like the Carer Program and Your Caring Way.  Jesse can you tell us more about thee supports that are out there and available specifically for LGBTIQA+ communities?

00:11:03:13 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

Yeah, definitely. So specifically to LGBTQIA+ people, there is transgendered, as I mentioned, which is through Relationships Australia. There's also a group that's run at Headspace through Shout. That's amazing. I've been there twice. I also link people to Rainbow Gympie which is run by an amazing person and they are a great link to have in the community. They identify and they have been providing me with support to connect people into the Gympie area. It's been great.

00:11:38:00  Interviewer (Tracy)

If you were to give some advice to a participant listening to the podcast, who is LGBTIQA+ with disability, what advice would you have for them for approaching us, meeting access…?

00:12:03:00  Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

Use our Rainbow Responder email first off, but be open to conversations around your sexuality in terms of how we can support you.  So if it's about linking to services, so if you had a disability and you also identified as LGBT, be open in terms of… I need a specific doctor who can help me. And I think that if we don't know, we can't send you to the right places. So really important about having a conversation about ‘this is how I identify, I'm struggling to find someone who can support me with this because of how I identify, how can you help me?’

00:12:34:19 Carers Qld Announcement: 

Everybody has rights. But sometimes it's not easy to speak up and advocate for yourself. It takes confidence, resilience, knowing your rights and knowing someone has your back. Be the voice you want to be can help. It's a free program from Carers Queensland for people with disability. It'll build your skills, help you be a strong advocate for yourself, your family and friends, maybe even your community. Along the way you'll build a peer network so you have a squad to support you speaking up. Find out more. Get in touch or look for events and opportunities coming up near you. Visit our website at carersqld.com.au or call our inquiries line on 1300 999636.

00:13:22:23 Interviewer (Tracy)

Well, Mardi Gras certainly was a fun time, Jessie. Why is it important for such events to occur, especially for people with disability from the LGBT community?

00:13:32:19 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

That's a really good question. I think that it's really important because of visibility sake. It's important that Carers Queensland is there to represent and show what we do and how we can help people. And it's important to have those larger events to show camaraderie and that community is important and we are here.

00:13:51:00  Interviewer (Tracy)

Yeah. It was such a great night to see so many people there, wasn't it?

00:13:51:02 Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

Yeah, it was amazing. I think it was great to see how many diverse people we have in our community, as well as how many young people we have that identify. Whereas previously I'd never seen that before. I think too, it was great for young people to see older people there, including drag queens and so many people dressed up. It really shows that we're inclusive and we care about each other. It was so great to see. And the questions that we were asked, I guess, really helped us point back into the community and how important it is to you.

00:14:36:06  Interviewer (Tracy)

You're really passionate about your work. What is it about your job that you particularly love and enjoy?

00:14:43:00  Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

I get to meet people every day and hear their stories, and that's really valuable. I think that it's so personal for them to share their story. If you have a disability and you identify as LGBTQ, you are such a minority. And to hold that story and then be able to share it with someone and be able to listen and hear it, it's amazing. And then to be able to share that myself is great, I love that.

00:15:09:00  Interviewer (Tracy)

Jesse thanks so much for joining me today.

00:15:10:00  Jesse Grieve, LAC ILC

Thank you.

00:15:12:00  Carers QLD announcement:

Thanks for joining us at Choice and Control, a Carers Queensland podcast. For more information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme or Carers Queensland, contact us online www.carersqld.com.au or you can call us on 1300 999636 or head to Facebook and look for  Carers Queensland NDIS.

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