Community Inclusion Program

Promoting health & wellbeing together through:
- community participation
- friendship &  social connectedness
- creativity
- positive lifestyle

The Community Inclusion Program is funded to provide services for people with an intellectual disability.  The program is based in Wangaratta but can provide a service to people living anywhere in Hume and neighbouring regions.  Community Inclusion Program includes:

• Community Inclusion Brokerage Service (Day Programs funding)  provides experiences & opportunities for people with an intellectual disability, most of whom had been institutionalised for much of their lives.  The activities are provided through a brokerage model with community based organisations, services & businesses at community based venues.  Examples of activities are drama, art, jewellery making, swimming.
  
• An "out of hours" social club operates monthly to give informal opportunities for people to make friends while enjoying social activities, eg horse riding, fishing, dancing and cinema.
  
• Futures for Young Adults  supports young people with an intellectual disability who have passed through the school system to move onto community based adult options.  Examples are TAFE, The Centre for Adult Education, computer course, literacy & numeracy tutoring, driver preparation, work experience, travel training. 

Values

The values under pinning the work of community inclusion are:

•  A strong community includes everyone, regardless of abilities
•  People with disabilities have the same rights and responsibilities as other      
   members of the community
• It is vital to accept and respect everyone as individuals

Broad goals of the program

• facilitate inclusion in our communities to enable equal opportunities & choices
• develop & maintain flexibility & adaptability to make way for self advocacy in the pursuit of equal rights
• enable people to achieve their aspirations by providing quality services.
• participants & staff will pursue opportunities for change and personal growth through consultation and community capacity building

Recurrent funding

Each client is funded per DHS unit costs for their particular program.  The actual amount depends on:

• whether they use the Brokerage service or Futures for Young Adults,
• level of support they require (as negotiated with DHS),
  and
• time fraction allocated to them

Location/Venues of services

Office based staff are located at 1st Floor, 90-100 Ovens Street, Wangaratta.  Support staff work with clients at activities in the communities of Wangaratta, Myrtleford, Beechworth & Benalla.

Links to other websites for further information

• DHS Disability Division
• Office of the Public Advocate
• Disability State Plan
• International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
• Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS)