Disability Services
With a decade of experience residing in the region, our founders were acutely aware of the urgent need for disability support services in the Arnhem Land area. However, upon the establishment of Country Connect in 2020, the overwhelming demand for our services underscored the severity of the lack of support and services available to those in need.
As we interacted with new individuals and heard their life stories, it became increasingly clear that many recipients were not receiving the critical funding they urgently needed due to various reasons, including inadequate funding, ineligibility for funding, and essential items falling outside the scope of funding. We believe that the remoteness of the regions where we operate, along with cross-cultural barriers, contributes to this funding shortfall for many clients.
Funds received through our foundation will help address these disparities and ensure that all individuals are provided with equal opportunities to access the support services and essential items they need.
Inadequate Funding
Numerous factors go unnoticed and are unfamiliar to those who determine the allocation of funding for NDIS recipients in remote Australia. These factors encompass various aspects, from the significant distances needed to travel for providing support and assisting clients in reaching their desired destinations and activities, leading to underfunded travel supports, to the considerable time spent assisting clients in accessing overwhelmed medical services. Unfortunately, this often results in many individuals not receiving the medical attention they require.
Furthermore, we have observed numerous individuals living with disability who simply do not receive the necessary amount of support hours they urgently require. This fact becomes evident through our interactions and developing relationships with these individuals.
Inellgibile Funding
In addition to insufficient funding, we have encountered numerous individuals living with disability who, despite having a diagnosis and evident need for support, are deemed ineligible for funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Moreover, considering the additional barriers faced by people living with disability in remote and regional Australia, their need for support is drastically heightened. These barriers include, but are not limited to, overcrowded housing affecting quality of life, overwhelmed medical services exacerbating medical conditions when left untreated, expansive areas resulting in some individuals living far from any familial supports, and many more.
Unfunded items
Finally, there are various essential needs that the National Disability Insurance Scheme does not address. Moreover, these necessities are already severely lacking in low-income areas, leaving individuals without fundamental essentials, such as food, electricity, clothing, and more, exacerbating issues of food insecurity among vulnerable populations and complicating the management of medical conditions.