03 Jul 2018
NewsA brighter future for a father and his son
SSI Ability Links participant Xiaolong Yang is a middle aged single father who is living with physical and psychiatric disability due to an injury suffered in his workplace seven years ago. He is on a disability support pension, and his main carer is his teenage son Brendan. As his carer, Brendan had to look after Mr Yang on a daily basis, forcing him to miss school from time to time.
Mr Yang came from China 19 years ago and had little knowledge of how the government system worked due to language and cultural barriers. After connecting with SSI Ability Links through his linker Kathy, they began learning more about the NDIS, looking at ways to gain support from it and how to have a more active participation in the community.
Mr Yang was able to attend NDIS workshops to obtain information on how to prepare documents to apply for NDIS support. He managed to set up and submit his plan, having it approved in November 2017. Through this plan he has accessed several services including physio, golf games and carer services, which have helped improve his mental health.
He was also linked to the Diversity Disability Alliance (DDA) to acquire peer support services. After three sessions, he attended a DDA mentor training and became a peer support mentor which gave Mr Yang the skills necessary to organise a Chinese care group and be more connected with his community.
With the support Mr Yang receives from his NDIS plan, Brendan is now studying at Sydney University and working as an administrative assistant.