Individual Advocacy Program
Individual Advocates assist individuals with a disability from a diverse background and/or their carers.
Clients may come from any non-English background and may come from any age, gender, or religion. Clients may come from any region of Victoria.
People we work with may have a physical, intellectual, psychiatric or sensory disability, may be hearing or vision impaired, or may sufffer from Acquired Brain Injury or Developmental Delay. Many of our clients have multiple disabilities.
The role of the Invidividual Advoacy Program is to work in Partnership with our clients to achieve goals that meet their individual needs and to ensure equity of access and participation in the community.
Individual Advocates assist by:
- Providing clients with information about disability services, resources and other community organisations;
- Advising clients and their carers of their rights and encouraging them to voice and act upon the issues that concern them;
- Supporting clients in their efforts to participate in decision making and to become actively involved in the life of the community and surrounding society;
- Referring clients to government organisations and other organisations that provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services in the community.
Eligibility
To be able to use the Individual Advocacy service, a person must be:
- From a Non-English speaking background, or have at least one parent from a Non-Enlish speaking country and
- The person must have a disability or
- The person is a carer and/or significant other. (A carer is defined as a person other than a paid carer caring for another person with a recognised disability)
In the financial year 2004/2005 the Individual Advocates assisted 175 clients. A reduction in the number of clients was due to the move of the agency to the new premises in Preston, the Program’s Audit by the Commonwealth Department of Family and Human Services and the supervision of social work students.
The data collected illustrated that the clients assisted by the program came from 28 diverse ethnic backgrounds and from four regions of Victoria, the majority ranging in age from 17 to 64 years. The top five consumer issues addressed were: information provision, accommodation, financial, case management, aids and equipment.
The following case study illustrates how Individual Advocates frequently found that while clients presented with one concern, after some clarification and discussion, the original problem was only a part of a cluster of interwoven issues which needed addressing.
Case Study
A woman of Lebanese background came to Australia 10 years ago, with her husband and two daughters, one of whom suffered from autism. Her husband returned to Lebanon five years later leaving the family with no income and no access to other financial support and it was around this time that she was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Whilst undergoing treatment, she was struggling with the care of her growing daughter with a disability.
She requested assistance from the Individual Advocacy Program because she had been on an Office of Housing waiting list for 9 years. The Individual Advocates with the cooperation of her general practitioner and several other professionals successfully applied for priority housing allocation on the basis of multiple needs. The woman was also linked with appropriate social support networks and other organizations to help with equipment and house modifications, transport, home help and respite.
Individual Advocacy translated brochures:
- Advocacy Brochure - Arabic
- Advocacy Brochure - Chinese
- Advocacy Brochure - Dari
- Advocacy Brochure - Greek
- Advocacy Brochure - Italian
- Advocacy Brochure - Turkish
- Advocacy Brochure - Vietnamese
Further Information
Intake is done on Friday's. During the week please leave details of your case and contact details and we will work through this list on Friday's.
People awaiting assistance from an Individual Advocate should be aware that, from time to time, a waiting list may be in place.
If you would prefer to speak to us in your own language, phone us, leave your name, the language you speak, and your telephone number, and we will contact you through a telephone interpreter service.
Alternatively, you may contact the Telephone Interpretor Service.