Our Carer Champion Comes to You!
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Our Carer Champion Comes to You! e at the GIppsland Carers As Annie lives in the Warragul area, Association would like to she will be well-placed to encourage Wintroduce you to Annie Grogan, our new the development of Carer Support Carer Champion. Annie joined us in Groups in West Gippsland. February, and hit the ground running. She is keen to travel to see carers in She has already spoken with many their own towns who may be in need of Carers, in an attempt to assess the support, links to services, and advice, specific needs of Carers in Gippsland. but who are unable to attend Carers Annie has a background in education, Place due to the restrictions imposed counselling, and arts and design. She upon them by their caring duties. has past experience as a foster mother It is our vision to be able to one to 17 children, and along with other day have several Carer Champions family members, is caring for a frail, throughout the Gippsland region, as aged father, and a sister with MS. She part of our Regional Support Network is the mother of five adult children. for Carers. IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT MAY FORUM In lieu of our annual May Carers forum, we will instead be holding a Carers BBQ in Warragul this year (see the last page for further information). Visit us at www.gippslandcarers.org The Gippsland Carer Page 2 a copy of my presentation for use in his lectures to medical students at the University of New South Wales. I was From The very happy to oblige on behalf of all of our Carers. President’s Desk On the following page, I have provided you with an extract of my presentation GCA President Jean Tops to the assembly. We aim to have the full transcript up on our website very soon. I owe a special thank you to the Carers Community Care Conference Series. fter many years of of campaigning from NSW, Queensland, Mornington Among a very distinguished list of for our Carers to have a better Peninsula, and Gippsland, for providing presenters, I was the only person deal, I was thrilled to be put material and photos for the Powerpoint A selected to represent Carers. I was forward by Carer friends in New South component of the presentation. This was delighted with the overwhelmingly Wales as a speaker for Carers at the another example of Carers supporting positive reception I received, as it 5th Annual National Disability summit each other across state divides. Together, demonstrated that Carers matter. (“Ensuring Sustainable & Successful we will achieve funded Carer Advocacy You know you have reached your audi- Disability Reform through the NDIS”). Networks because we are the glue that ence when someone as esteemed as This Summit was convened by IIR will hold the NDIS together. n Emeritus Professor Parmenter requested “The NDIS is owned by people with disability, their families, their carers, their friends and other Australians who came together and fought hard and long for change so desperately needed. Those most affected need an NDIS and they certainly want one. We know that rolling out the NDIS is a big job, but it’s hardly sending someone to the moon and it should not take a decade to deliver.” - John Della Bosca, National Campaign Director of Every Australian Counts, in his address to Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee into the NDIS The Gippsland Carer is Support Group Meetings in Gippsland published by the Committee of Management of the Gippsland Carers Association Inc as a The Gippsland Carers Association Carers Support Group service to carers. The opinions meets each month (excl. Dec & Jan) on the fourth Wednesday, expressed are those of individual 10am-noon, at Gippsland Disability Advocacy, 8 Hopetoun Rd, authors, not necessarily those of Morwell. G.C.A. Inc. AIN: A0035748T For further information, contact Dot on 0402 450 241 Articles may be reproduced with an acknowledgement of the meets on the fourth source. Please send articles, The Latrobe Valley Prostate Support Group letters and photographs to: Wednesday of the month at Morwell Club, 136 Helen Street, [email protected] Morwell at 6.00 pm for a meal first, with the meeting commencing or at 7.00 pm. PO Box 937, MOE VIC 3825 For further information, contact: Convener/Secretary Colin.R.Bermingham Visit our Website at: Phone (03) 5135 3353, Mobile 0419 118 825, www.gippslandcarers.org email: [email protected] Contact the Editor on 03 5133- The Latrobe Valley Dementia Support Group meets on the 3343, or Secretary on (03) first Thursday of each month, 1-3pm at Moe P.L.A.C.E. (at the 5127- 4993. Email us at: [email protected] Moe Football Ground - enter from Vale St). Carers and families of dementia sufferers are invited to attend for support, information, Print Post App: PP100002218. and advocacy. For more info, ring Pam on 5127-4993 or 0419 886 268. GCA is grateful for the support of Carers Victoria The Gippsland Carer Page 3 5TH Annual National Disability Summit 17-18 March 2014 Meeting the support needs of Carers (Extract of presentation by Jean L Tops) ‘Carers are the Glue that will hold the NDIS the word ‘carer’ to now mean many things- paid carer, animal together and ensure it succeeds!’ carers, environmental carers, child carers for working mothers. Carers know there is a Lack of grass roots support’ and Top- down management is obvious as a result of this! Levels and tiers of government are designed to quell demand. Constant departmental name changes and policy changes confuse and stress those seeking assistance. Consultation is ad hoc and generally limited to peak agencies. This strategy deliberately misleads the public into believing services are better than they are, and that carers receive far greater assistance than they do. The inclusion of carers is vital to the success of the NDIS, but sadly they are often excluded, maligned and dependent upon meagre assistance. This causes unacceptable levels of stress, poverty, illness and Isolation in the family home for most carers of loved ones with high dependency needs. The estimate of people with a severe or profound disability (S/P) targeted to need support through the NDIS is less than one half of the 127,500 people to have such a S/P disability, and overlooks those who may be receiving help now but will be excluded from the scheme. Families and friends support the vast majority of people (almost 92%) who rely upon others for help. Carers know that GCA President Jean Tops, after her well-received presentation participant plans don’t consider the support needs of carers. Ensuring the inclusion of the family carer within the NDIS is a The NDIS process has already excluded carers from the large issue that can only be discussed briefly in the short time ‘right’ to have an ‘assessment of their needs’ when the person I have here; but, I hope you will gain an insight into why carers with a disability is assessed. (Carer/Family assessment is a must be included in policy and planning for the scheme to clear recommendation of the Productivity Commission that is succeed. ignored). For the general public to understand and support the role Payments to support caring families have received little of carers, means governments need to first accept that the attention in the planning of the NDIS, and it is necessary for NDIS will not be able to replace the caring family’s enormous there to be a transparent understanding of how social security contributions of care worth payments support family more than $42Billion ‘the wellbeing of many carers is in a carers now, and into the annually. These gifts are in precarious state. Carers have the lowest future. essence priceless, but are Government driven not considered as vital in the collective wellbeing of any group and have community belief is that scheme planning processes? an average rating classified as moderate ‘all carers’ have support It is well known that more depression and are highly likely to carry payments from the taxpayer than 2.6 million unpaid carers purse, which is clearly provide accommodation, injury associated with reduced wellbeing’ untrue. A better planning personal care and support, -Australian Unity Well-being Index process is required to ensure but this is poorly understood family carers have their by the general public. The Productivity Commission has stated financial needs considered in developing funding plans for that’ “the NDIS would FAIL” without carers - yet public discourse persons who choose to remain with families. surrounding the scheme shows that the public has little The latest govenrment figures available are for 2011-12 and understanding of this. show that of the 2.6 million carers, there were 205,565 carers in Government spending on advertising the NDIS aims to quell receipt of a Carers Payment, 8% of all Carers. There were just concern over costs, soften debate, and minimise expectations 549,638 carers in receipt of a Carers Allowance, or 21% of the in the sector. Debate is hampered by the deliberate use of total number of carers. (continued on Page 4) GCA thanks the Victorian State Government for its ongoing support The Gippsland Carer Page 4 (Continued from Page 3) are not clearly defined. There are other groups of people with disabilities currently receiving supports from ageing parents This data begs the question of why all primary carers (771,400 and family carers, who may not fit the category of the 640,000 - in 11-12) are not receiving a Carer Payment if it is indeed a persons with severe or profound disability to qualify for NDIS payment for caring.