In the community...
News and views from the Awhi community
Kia ora Awhi community. Welcome to your round-up of news and coverage of the parents with children with disabilities community.
Have you been affected by the recent North Island floods and impact of Cyclone Gabrielle? Do you need help?
Civil Defence payments:
Civil Defence Payments are available if you’ve been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle or the flooding: Cyclone Gabrielle - Work and Income
Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People - Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Email: contact@whaikaha.govt.nz Phone: 0800 566 601 or text 4206
Disability Helpline
A free Disability Helpline is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support deaf, disabled people and whānau.
Call 0800 11 12 13 or text 8988. You can also access this helpline using the NZ Relay Service www.nzrelay.co.nz
It can help with:
connecting you to support and information about the recent severe weather and flooding
any general health concerns you have
if a support worker/carer is unavailable or hasn’t arrived
any queries relating to COVID-19
Today is International Rare Disease Day and marks the start of the first Aotearoa Rare Disorders Month.
The month is an advocacy and support period for the more than 300,000 New Zealanders who live with one of 6,000+ rare disorders.
According to the 2021 Voice of Rare Disorders Survey, over half of people living with a rare disorder took longer than 1 year to get a diagnosis, and for one in five the time taken to get a diagnosis was over 10 years.
55% of respondents indicated their disorder impacted a lot on their health and everyday life, and 32% required more than 2 hours per day for illness-related daily tasks.
Comprehensive guides detailing how to #GlowUpShowUp are available for schools, support groups, workplaces, individuals, healthcare clinics and community groups on the Rare Disorders website.
Community reads:
'We need a different kind of help" - The forgotten community impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Strike not off the table for disability support workers
Disability advocates offer connection through touch at tactile workshop
An autistic child with a paediatric feeding disorder shares their love of McDonalds chips.
'How long must we wait?' Disabled people want stronger accessibility legislation
Disability Minister has 'heard concerns' about accessibility bill
Kiwibank unveils bank cards designed to make life easier for blind and low vision customers
New Awhi guidance for parents