As you may have heard, Mamre is part of an exciting new project in partnership with WA’s Individualised Services and funded by the NDIA ILC grant. On Monday the 16th of November, Mamre played host to the second Decision Making Possibilities Facilitator Training workshop.
Over the next two years, 24 people with complex communication needs will go on a supported decision-making journey. Each Decision Maker will have a network of important people in their lives to support their decisions, choices, and preferences. 12 of these Decision Makers and Supporters live here in Brisbane and are joining the project with Mamre. You can read more about the project here.
This group of Decision Makers and Supporters will have a network facilitator. Their job is to keep the Decision Maker at the project’s centre. As well as create consensus within the group, support communication, and involve everyone in decision-making opportunities.
Network facilitator training sessions have taken place in Brisbane and Perth with participants joining in both in-person and online. These sessions have included topics like communication, group facilitation, person-centred planning, and supported decision-making. In addition to the project team, sessions have been co-presented by people with complex communication access needs.
At the most recent training session special guest presenter Rodney Mills, along with support worker Branko Funda, shared his powerful story about the importance of having the right support. For instance, once linked with communication support, Rodney was able to have control over his life. This led to becoming a public speaker, owning his own home, and travelling the world. To read more about Rodney, check out his website here.
Having workshops with guest presenters who have complex communication access needs is a vital element of these sessions. Rodney’s story beautifully emphasises the importance of the Decision Making Possibilities project. As well as demonstrated that even though Rodney is non-verbal, his decisions for how he lives his life are respected. In other words, Rodney’s choices, decisions, and preferences are upheld.
There are 4 fundamental values and beliefs of the Decision Making Possibilities Project:
- Everyone has a right to make decisions and determine what happens in their own lives
- People with complex communication access needs can make decisions when they receive quality decision support
- Understanding, respecting and acting on a person’s will and preferences is the foundation of quality decision support
- Lives can be transformed when people with communication needs work with their networks to make supported decisions
With more facilitator training sessions left and our Decision Makers ready, we look forward to bringing you more stories soon. Check out some of these great pictures from the recent training workshop.