Social and community participation
Getting out of the house and into things that are actually yours, rather than a rotation of activities someone else chose.
Community participation funding exists because isolation is one of the most common and least discussed problems in disability, and because a life spent indoors is not a life.
The trap is a support that becomes a weekly outing to the same shopping centre. That is attendance, not participation.
What this looks like
Sport, gyms and swimming. Classes and courses. Volunteering. Faith and cultural communities. Social groups and clubs. Concerts, films, markets and the football. Seeing friends and family. And the ordinary things that make somewhere feel like yours: a regular coffee, a library, a walk you like.
Starting from you
We ask what you did before, or what you have always wanted to try, and work from there. If the answer is that you do not know, we try things and see. That is a legitimate use of the funding.
Support is as much or as little as it needs to be. For some people it is a worker alongside them the whole time. For others it is a lift there, and a pick-up afterwards, and the middle bit is theirs.
Around Blacktown
There is more here than people expect, and workers who have been doing this locally for years know which places are genuinely accessible rather than merely advertised that way. Ask us what is on around Blacktown. Our workers know the venues that are genuinely accessible.
Questions
Is this funded in my plan?
Usually yes. It sits in Core supports as Assistance with Social and Community Participation. Some plans also fund it under Capacity Building as Increased Social and Community Participation, which builds skills rather than providing company.
Do I have to join a group?
No. Group programs suit some people and not others. One-to-one support doing your own thing is an equally valid use of the funding.
Who pays for tickets and entry?
You do, the same as anyone. NDIS funding pays for the support worker, not for the concert ticket. We will tell you the cost before we book anything.
Can supports happen on weekends and evenings?
Yes. Community life mostly happens outside business hours. Those shifts are priced differently under the NDIS pricing arrangements, which affects how far the funding goes.
What if I want to try something and hate it?
Then we try something else. Nobody gets it right first go.
Make a referral or ask about a placement
Tell us the supports the plan funds and when they need to start. We respond the same business day.