Council opens doors for Yooralla

TWO Yooralla customers who attend the Leongatha Community Hub were thrilled to receive funding from the South Gippsland Shire Council to attend the 2016 Having a Say conference in Geelong recently.

The Having a Say conference is one of the most widely recognised events in Australia for people with disability to connect and learn, and for Dale Olierook and Damian Midwinter, the opportunity to attend was invaluable.

The two men lead busy, active lives. As well as attending the Leongatha Community Hub, where they undertake a range of learning and training activities, they both also work and volunteer across their local community.

For Dale and Damian, the most important aspect of the Having a Say conference was the opportunity to learn about their rights. Both agree the experience and lessons learnt will benefit them and help them to continue the work they do.

Funding from council covered all expenses including transport, accommodation, meals and entry to the conference for the pair, as well as community development worker Vanessa Holness.

Over the last few years, Ms Holness has worked closely with the council’s rural access officer Alisha Gilliland to build the relationship between the hub and the community, which has resulted in success and many doors opening for people with disability.

Ms Holness said, “It was such an inspiring event seeing people with disabilities stand up and make a stand about their rights in the world they live, it was contagious and the whole world should be catching it.”

Out there: Dale Olierook (left) and Damian Midwinter learnt about rights for people with a disability at the Having a Say conference in Geelong.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Mar 1 2016. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry