When thinking about what makes a great life for people with disability one only need think about what would make a great life for all people; having a home of one’s own, having a job or a way to make a contribution, having relationships where we feel a sense of belonging and having opportunities to learn and grow.
Unfortunately this does not happen as readily for people who live with disabilities as it does for their peers who don’t have disability. CRU works to provide people with disability, their families and supporters with frameworks and strategies to assist them to achieve these things that many people take for granted.
Video: The Good Life. Independence, Choices and Happiness
We can all build our capacity to first imagine and then plan for the life we want. In a variety of ways, CRU strives to build peoples capacity to expect more; to speak up more clearly; to stay on track and to decide what’s best in terms of building and protecting good lives for people with disability. Building these skills is not necessarily about more effort but a shift in thinking that can help us to achieve more or to improve what we are achieving.
True inclusion is to belong and to belong is more than presence. It involves relationships, contribution, purpose and identity in a person’s community.
To maximise this and to form a fertile bed for friendships to grow between people with disabilities and other community members we will need to understand the world we live in.
Ann Greer
Capacity building is an individual journey as each of us will build our skills and talents in our own way and at our own time. However capacity can also be built in a quantitative way - if two people can do more than one, then four can do more than two and so on, which not only increases quantity but can also help to embed strength and diversity. Finding ways to contribute and belong to the wider community is fundamental to CRU’s message.
CRU has a strong track record of assisting people and their families to build their capacity in the following areas:
- Vision and Planning for a life in Community
- Circles of Support & other strategies
- Safeguards & Succession Planning
- Building Friendships and Relationships
- Valued Social Roles
- Advocacy Skill Building
Current Work and Projects
Between 2020 and 2023, CRU has ILC-funding from the Department of Social Services, to provide information to inspire and encourage people with disabilities, their families and supporters to take their place in community.
Each year, CRU will offer a series of webinars and we have also planned general workshops that we will deliver throughout Queensland, including in rural and remote towns. Topics will differ in each area but will include:
- Responding well to people with challenging behaviour
- Advocacy skills
- Social Role Valorisation for families
- Leadership Development Masterclasses
- Belonging in Community
To connect with people in a more personal way, we will also offer the following:
- Coordination of Peer networks or gatherings of people – there are 3 small networks currently operating around the topic of Self-Management and there are more opportunities planned for people to come together who are interested in a particular topic e.g. getting a job; moving into your own home.
- You are also welcome to give us a call to talk things through with someone from CRU. Please email cru@cru.org.au or call us on 07 3844 2211 for more information or to organise an individual consultation.
Fee For Service
To supplement and deepen the work we provide through the subsidised workshops and webinars CRU also offers training and consultation packages on a fee for service basis.
Our skilled disability consultants work alongside you to assist you and your supporters to become clear, confident and in control as you strive for the good things in life.
For more information visit the Fee For Service section of our website.