An online forum for people with a disability and their carers was one of two innovative Illawarra projects launched this week as services across the region prepare for the rollout of the national disability insurance scheme.
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DisabilityCare Australia's director of engagement Judith Davis-Lee visited Wollongong on Tuesday to officially launch My Voice My Choice which has been devised by The Disability Trust to get people connected.
SCOPE Access Home Modifications and Maintenance Services also launched their new planning tool, A Way to Stay, which will help people with a disability make informed decisions on the costs and benefits of modifying their home.
"These two projects are both very exciting and have tremendous potential for the broader disability sector," Ms Davis-Lee said.
"They have both been funded under the Practical Design Fund, a grants program which allows individuals and grassroots organisations to come up with innovative methods to assist people with disabilities, their families, their carers and the sector to prepare for the scheme."
Disability Trust chief executive Margaret Bowen said My Voice My Choice was a new social media platform and information portal which allowed people to manage the changes being introduced under the scheme.
The online forum will allow people with a disability to control their personal information, store it safely and share it with service providers when appropriate.
People can also safely share knowledge and insight with people with similar experiences and receive newsletters and other information on the forum.
"We're at a time of unprecedented change within the disability service system in Australia and all of us are excited and invigorated by the opportunities that will come," Ms Bowen said.
"There's no doubt person-centred and individualised funding is to be lauded.
"However, there is the danger that we will lose the ability of people to connect with, to share with and support each other.
"And that's the underlying principle of My Voice My Choice," Ms Bowen said.
SCOPE Access chief executive Anne Reeve said the A Way to Stay planning tool had helped people with a disability and their families map out their accommodation needs.
She said a proactive approach was useful so modifications like handrails, ramps, or lifts could be planned for to help improve quality of life.
"We wanted to develop a simple tool where people could look at their lifestyle and their home environment holistically and plan for their current and future needs," she said.
"We want to get people planning early and planning budgets ahead of time if they require modifications."
Ms Reeve said the tool would help people feel better equipped to decide whether there was a "way to stay" in their own home, or whether it would be better to move.