World Wide Web ResourcesPage Headings:
Introduction:The great thing about the Net is the way it builds a sense of community. Disabled and older people often lack a sense of community, feeling the impact of isolation more keenly than most. Similarly, their carers can feel cut off from rest of the world. Your local council may be unwilling or unable to provide even the simplest of things, like ramps for wheelchairs, but the Internet bars no one. Here, carers too can find a way back into the world, meeting others with similar experiences, able to provide help and support. This page will endeavour to fill that gap. Links will be given to Web sites that are libraries, charities and organisations that provide resources to help the young and aged with disabilities.Sight and/or Hearing Impaired People:There are a number of associations to help sight and/or hearing impaired people. Their mission statement is clear and simple. Their purpose is to enhance the mobility, independence and quality of life of sight and/or hearing impaired people by providing guide dogs and other services. Their Web sites certainly help to achieve that, pointing out that they can also offer suppport beyond the dogs, which aren't any good, for example, at writing letters. There's lots of stuff about who's eligible, how to apply, guide dog myths and so on. There is also information on how the training courses work because, of course, owners need training as well as the dogs. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in the UK offers a feeding allowance for the dog, meets vets' bills and help with any other costs associated with owning a guide dog. The training, care and feeding of a dog through its lifetime cost around 34,000 English pounds sterling. There's a good clear contact form so you can get in touch with the association and find out about fund raising. You can make a small donation or find out about larger projects, such as the Sinai Sojourn, a walking holiday in the Middle East available to those who make a personl contribution of two hundred and sixty pounds sterling towards the trip and who raise two thousand pounds sterling or more in sponsorship. Inventive, easy to navigate and full of information, this is the model of what a site should be.
Limbless Association:Part of the large and highly thought of Charitynet group of sites, the Limbless Association site offers a lot of helpful information to people who are missing one or more limbs. From here, you can find out more about the national network of visitors (all volunteers, and limbless themselves) who can help amputees and prospective amputees come to terms with what's happening to them and how it's likely to affect their lives. The site can also offer support and advice to those people who are doing the caring for the limbless person. There's a useful looking quarterly newsletter (which includes articles like Ten Commandments for Reducing Stress and the Amputee Survival Kit). And there are also lots of access points for those who either want to help or donate to the association, or who are amputees themselves. Click Here to Visit the Limbless Association Miscellaneous:There are many associations, charities and organisations to help people and children with disabilities. The Disability Information Trust is a charity that specialises in looking at and testing equipment designed for disabled people to see whether or not it's any good. Given how expensive hoists and lifts, or wheelchairs and powered scooters can be, this is a valuable service. Topics covered include hoists, lifts and transfers, home management and housing, personal care, manual wheelchairs, outdoor transport, employment and the workplace, walking and standing aids and gardening kits. The synopses are pretty good and the one on communications and access to computer technology gives details on the diverse range of equipment available for using a computer. You can get anything from special keyboards, mice, arm and wrist supports and copy holders, to devices for operating the computer with any small movement of the body or a blink of the eye, and programs that recognise and react to your voice. Click Here to Visit The Disability Information Trust Libraries:Libraries are an excellent source of information on a multitude of topics relevant to the abuse of older people. Elder abuse is not a new problem in our society, however, it has only been over the past decade that this problem has been addressed. Use a search engine like Alta Vista, when visiting a library Web site, with keywords like aged and rights while searching for book titles in the library catalogue to turn up a host of references. Financial exploitation of older people is widespread in our community and it ranges from minor incidents of theft by relatives and carers to major incidents such as the takeover of the older person's assets. Financial or material abuse is defined as the illegal or improper use of the older person's property or finances. This could include misappropriation of money, valuables or property, forced changes to a will or other legal document, and denial of right of access to, or control over, personal funds. Older people should be informed about the risks involved in giving Power of Attorney and the legal and financial implications of such transactions. (Refer to "Financial Exploitation of Older People in their Homes" by Annette Field, a paper presented to "Confronting Abuse: The Way Forward", a conference organised by The NSW Advisory Committee on Abuse of Older People in Their Homes at the Wesley Centre, Sydney on 2-3 May 1996.) Definitions of Elder Abuse have been well documented in these discussion papers. The NSW Advisory Committe on Abuse of Older People published the "Legal Issues Manual" in September 1995, a legal issues resource manual. Abuse of older people is a human rights issue. Older people do not need to put up with abuse. The New South Wales Task Force on Abuse of Older People established two sets of principles, one summarising the rights of older people, the other providing a framework for intervention in situations of abuse. These principles may apply to other vulnerable adults as well. Responses in cases of abuse of older people should seek to achieve simultaneously and/or in order of importance: freedom, safety, least disruption of lifestyle, and least restrictive care alternatives. General Principles:
Principles for Intervention:
These principles were accepted and endorsed on behalf of the New South Wales Government by the Minister for Health and Community Services and the Minister for Police in 1992. Click Here to Visit The State Library of New South Wales Click Here to Visit The Penrith City Council Library Click Here to Visit The Blacktown City Council Library New South Wales Seniors Card:Your Seniors Card is a unique savings program committed to providing seniors with an extensive variety of recreational, lifestyle, business and State Government benefits throughout Australia. With nearly 1 million members and in excess of 6,500 businesses participating, the goal is to create and promote greater opportunities for seniors to enjoy a more rewarding retirement. Seniors Card gives you access to a vast range of savings in everything from cafes and restaurants, holidays/travel, clothes and grocery shopping, sports wear and equipment, automotive service, even your local barber and hairdresser. As a recognition of the valuable contribution by seniors to the community, the NSW Government also gives seniors access to some of the most generous concessions available on the Public Transport System. Additionally, when travelling locally or interstate, you can attain savings on accommodation, tourist attractions and many other leisure activities. Membership is free! For further details about the Seniors Card, applying for membership, etc: - Click Here to Visit the New South Wales Seniors Card Website IntroductionClick Here to Return to My Home Page |