Strong Voices

Close to 50 community workshops will be held by May to develop local approaches to services around the country. This is part of the National Services Review by IDEA Services.

“We recognise that no two communities are the same, and so it is crucial that we understand what is important in your area. Our goal with these workshops is  to develop a localised approach for people with intellectual disabilities,”  says IDEA Services Chief Operating  Officer Joan Cowan.

“I’d like to thank everyone so far who has participated in the four workshops held towards the end of 2020 in South/East Auckland, North Canterbury, Hutt Valley, Tauranga/Mount Maunganui and Mana.

Joan says it has been a great opportunity to hear from families about their top priorities and how we can incorporate them into future plans. “We also intend to gather input from people we support and staff.”

The groups so far have had the opportunity to create a vision for the future and to develop some goals, including quality of life, friendship, variety, safety and future growth. What has also been a common theme is enabling people to do things they enjoy and to connect more with their communities.

Each workshop is facilitated by external consultants from Connect+Co and, in most situations, is co-hosted by the local Area Manager and Association Chair. The ideas will be collected and themes identified, and IDEA Services will then provide feedback to families.

Along with collecting feedback from people we support and staff, we will be developing localised area plans.