Disability Rights Advocacy Service (DRAS) starting new service

 

Carmen from the Disability Services team sent me the following. I’ve edited it slightly from the original email we received. 


The Disability Rights Advocacy Service (DRAS) is starting a new service to teach people with disability how to advocate successfully for their rights. They are especially committed to people with a disability being able to speak up for themselves where they are able, rather than relying on a support worker or carer.  To this end, they are in the process of establishing a number of groups across Adelaide that would meet perhaps once a month.

They contacted our organisation to see if we might know any students who might be interested and/or benefit from this type of activity. Hence we are posting on the blog.

In addition to learning these skills, DRAS hope that people with disability will tell them what other skills they might want to learn or issues they might want DRAS to follow up.  They very much want people with disabilities to take the lead and direct the activities of the peer networks.

This is an opportunity for people with disabilities to become human/disability rights mentors for their peers and learn more about active citizenship for themselves.  It is also an opportunity for forming new social connections for the participants.

DRAS will meet any expenses involved in someone attending and will provide all assistance possible for people with disability to participate including interpreters/translations and so on.

They are looking to the participants themselves to tell them where and when they would like groups to meet, but they are definitely looking at outer northern suburbs, inner northern suburbs, western suburbs, inner south, outer south, eastern suburbs, hills and a couple of regional locations.  They are already working with a group of culturally and linguistically diverse people on a group and are prepared to consider a group for a specific disability (an Autism group has been suggested for example).

People who are interested can phone Elias Qambari on 0475 751 131 or contact him by email at eqambari@dras.com.au.  Alternatively, you can contact his supervisor, Monica Leahy at mleahy@dras.com.au or 0439 548 600

Also, follow them on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityRightsAdvocacyService/

 

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