Hub's closure 'absolutely devastating', Bendigo disability advocate says
By Jenny Denton (The Bendigo Advertiser)
July 9, 2024
“It has been absolutely devastating to lose the support and connection of the Bendigo hub”
Bendigo disability advocate Alex Reimer
The loss of a Bendigo hub helping women advocate for disability support is a symptom of a system close to crisis, a local disability advocate says.
Alex Reimers said she had "personally felt the devastation and heartbreak" among users over the recent closure of a local "hub" provided by advocate organisation Women with Disabilities Victoria.
It was shut due a lack of funding.
Women with Disabilities Victoria is one of 52 independent disability advocacy organisations calling for an extra $60 million in funding for their sector to meet demand in the 2024/25 financial year.
"From a personal point of view, it has been absolutely devastating to lose the support and connection of the Bendigo hub as I have not only made beautiful new friends there but have also become steadfast in my confidence and how I am in my community," said Ms Reimers, who is non-verbal, via email.
Ms Reimers was unaware when contacted on Tuesday of a federal government funding "lifeline" which had been found for Women with Disabilities, according to the member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, and it was unclear whether the Bendigo hub would reopen.
'For the first time ever, we all feel safe, seen and heard'
As well as being a point-of-call for issues with the complicated NDIS, the Bendigo hub - where members met monthly for meetings and activities - had been some users' only social outlet and public place of safety in the community, the local advocate said.
It had been a place where "for the first time ever, we all feel safe, seen and heard," she said.
The group had also helped make Bendigo Law Courts more accessible, in a win for people with disabilities in the region.
Women with Disabilities would also lose support hubs in the Barwon and Moira shires and Melbourne's outer east.
The $60 million boost that the peak body says is needed for disability advocacy includes a $13 million boost for providers to meet immediate need in rural and remote areas.
Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) said in the joint statement that the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Review had both identified the crucial role of independent disability advocacy and the need for more funding for it.
"And yet, at a time when people with disability will need this trusted independent support to shape, understand and navigate the changes and uncertainty to flow from the big reforms underway, many independent disability advocacy organisations across the country are at crisis point and desperately needing help themselves," it said.
RIAC forced to retrench two staff members
Another advocacy organisation operating locally, RIAC (the Rights, Information and Advocacy Centre) had been forced to retrench two out of six skilled advocacy workers, its CEO Sandy Ross said.
The cut was "pretty devastating", with the loss of capacity likely to increase waiting lists and see more people turned away, he said.
The sector was meeting only half of the estimated demand, Mr Ross said, given denial of service due to under-resourcing combined with missed opportunities to help due to a lack of outreach.
"It's not easy being a person with a disability in our society," the chief executive said.
"There's lots of things that can go wrong, [particularly with] the way people are treated by services that are meant to be supporting or assisting them.
"There's all sorts of ways in which people are exploited or treated badly because of their vulnerabilities, and ... where those things are happening, there's often a very important need for an advocate to support that person independently."
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