Ability Links NSW: connecting communities

Events were held in the LGAs of Hornsby, Nowra, Ku-ring-gai, Ryde, North Sydney, Hawkesbury, Blue Mountains and City of Sydney. These were an opportunity for the community to meet ALNSW Coordinators – their local “Linkers”.

Linkers work closely with people with disability, their families and carers to support them to fulfil their goals, hopes and dreams: this includes participation in sport, education, volunteering, or other activities in the community.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said Linkers have strong local knowledge and work alongside communities, supporting them to be welcoming and inclusive.

“Linkers have been recruited to work with people and communities, including those from diverse backgrounds. Some SSI Linkers are bilingual, so the benefit of Ability Links NSW is that people of all backgrounds can feel supported to achieve their goals.”

Living Life My Way Champion Tish Peiris shared her experiences of life before and after disability at the North Sydney community event. Ms Peiris is a journalist and filmmaker and is a passionate supporter of ALNSW and the human rights of people with disability.

Member for Goulburn the Hon. Pru Goward participated in her local event by cutting an ALNSW cake and talking to attendees. Other events involved live music, quizzes, special guest speakers, and sharing of ALNSW participant stories.

ALNSW is for people with disability aged 9 to 64 years and their families and carers. Individuals, clubs, groups and businesses can also access ALNSW for information and support on inclusion of people with a disability.

SSI, in partnership with UnitingCare and the St Vincent De Paul delivers ALNSW to over 60 LGAs.

To find out more about ALNSW or who your local linker is, call (02) 8977 6700 or email abilitylinks@ssi.org.au

Or visit SSI’s ALNSW webpage: Ability Links NSW.

To communicate in another language call the Translating and Interpreting (TIS) service on 131 450.