Positive Powerful Parents and Self Advocacy Groups from around Victoria came together this week and celebrated the achievements each of the group made through the ILC Individual Capacity Building round that finishes up on June 30th 2024.

Groups presented slide shows, gave speeches and shared what being connected to their group meant to them.

Through the ILC Projects Groups created: resources, training and ran training, supported many people to connect with each other in face to face groups and online groups, presented at forums-expos-conferences-organisations, worked through the pandemic, travelled sharing information, held their own expos, made videos-short films documentaries and animations, learnt lots of new skills and had fun!!

Thank you goes to AMIDA (Action for More Impendence and Dignity in Accommodation) and SARU (Self Advocacy Resource Unit) for the support and advice provided to groups during these projects.

Here are a few photos from the celebration.

Positive Powerful Parents have been working with a creative writer to put parents lived experience onto paper in books.

This week we were VERY PROUD to launch the books made by parents!!??

The books are available to read at our office and will be strategically placed in the community for people to read.

Without support from the Department of Social Services these Self Advocacy Groups are at risk of closure:

• Positive Powerful Parents (PPP)

• Reinforce

• Brain Injury Matters (BIM)

• Power in Culture and Ethnicity (PCE)

• Have a Say Bendigo (HASB)

• Voices for Change (V4C)

• Voice at the Table (VATT)

Click the link to hear from Self Advocates about the importance of funding Self Advocacy Groups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5dWkIKCrig&t=2s

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US!!

Self Advocacy Groups are important for people to speak up for their rights.

Without people speaking up for their rights there is a risk of things becoming WITHOUT them again!

? FUNDING SELF ADVOCACY MATTERS!!

Positive Powerful Parents along with other Self Advocacy Groups has missed out on ILC Funding.

This means that PPP will not be able to continue with: running training for parents/people with intellectual disability, providing as much support to parents as we would like, we will no longer be running our Online Friday Friendship Groups, our office will be only open 1 day per week (Friday) and we will be very limited in what we can do going forward.

We may take a bit longer to reply to contact made by parents.

Please leave a message on our answering machine and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

If it is an emergency please call 000

We are very sorry for any inconvenience.

PPP is super excited to let you know we have been working on a Book Project.

Parents have been busy working on putting there stories onto paper with the support from Hannah Reekie.

We will let you know when the books are ready and will have some sets of the books to give away.

Here are some photos of parents working on there books.

This is a short film created by parents with lived experience of intellectual disability and the child protection system.

The actors in this short are all people with disability.

Positive Powerful Parents would like to thank all the parents involved with the creation of this short film. You are all Awesome Strong Self Advocates!! ?People are going to learn so much from this short film.

Shout out to Neon Sheep Films for their support and professionalism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK14De5aPNA

Merry Christmas from everyone at Positive Powerful Parents.

We will be back in the office on January 11th 2024

Gippsland Group members enjoying their Christmas Party

Dear Friends,

As of today PPP is on Christmas Holidays.

We understand just because we are on holidays, it doesn’t mean life stops.

During this time people might find it hard and it can feel isolating.

We do not want people to feel alone.

If you need to connect, feel free to connect with us here on this Positive Powerful Parents red Facebook page or in the Parents Rights Network – Parents with Disability Facebook Group.

We are all here to support each other.

Take care and keep safe!

Your Friends at Positive Powerful Parents