Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Jamie-Lee Dwyer and I’m a 34 year old woman living on the Gold Coast. I currently work at the Housing Hub as a copywriting assistant, and as part of that I write a lot of lived experience blogs. I hope to make a difference for other people with disabilities going through similar struggles so they don’t feel alone.
You worked on our project to develop resources to support people with disability living in shared support settings to resolve issues for 18 months. What made you get involved?
I was interested in how collaborative the co-design project would be with people who had different disabilities. I wanted to be a part of something where different perspectives were involved to create something meaningful.
I hope that by using skills that I’ve learnt as well as my unique experiences I can provide support for other people in similar situations to me.
What did you enjoy most about the process?
I enjoyed working alongside people from different backgrounds and seeing what they came up with.
For example, I really enjoyed working with other people who have lived experience and seeing the way they’re able to communicate with assistive technology.
What did you take away from this project?
Better education about NDIS roles and responsibilities and more confidence to navigate this in the future. Personally, I don’t think there is enough education out there about disability and I’m excited to be a part of this project.
What would you say to other people considering getting involved in a co-design project like this?
I would encourage as many people as possible to get involved in a co-design project because it opens your eyes as to what other people may be going through.
What do you think about the final designed resources?
The final resources show how much effort the whole team put into designing them. I think they are very useful and I only wish that I had access to these resources back when I moved into SDA (Specialist Disability Accommodation).
Is there any resource in particular that you would recommend to people thinking of checking them out?
I would recommend the Knowledge Builder: Building the Culture. I think it explains so much about living in SDA and how shared support works as opposed to your personal team of support workers.
Check out the Knowledge Builder and the full set of resources: