John O'Brien & Connie Lyle O'Brien Workshop, 30 July 2013

Today, I had the honour of meeting John O’Brien and
Connie Lyle O’Brien as part of their whirlwind Australian tour.  

John and Connie were invited to Canberra by Belconnen Community Service to lead a community discussion on:

“Does our support of individuals lead to relationships, dignity, choice, real contribution, and inclusion in community life?” 

• Community Participation: How can we expand and deepen people’s relationships?
• Encouraging respect and valued social roles: How can we enhance the reputation people have and increase the number of valued ways people can contribute?
• Promoting Choice: How can we support people to have more control and choice in life?
•  Supporting Contribution: How can we assist and support people to develop more competencies? 
• Community Presence: How can we increase the presence of a person in local community life? 

The all-day workshop was held at the Holt Community Centre and was attended by approximately 50 service providers and interested individuals.

The workshop has given us much to consider about the way we currently work with people with disability and has shown us many innovative alternatives... Food for thought and lots of new opportunities to form partnerships across the community...