All abilities course backed by friends

A PROGRAM aimed at supporting people with disabilities is set to be delivered at Ballarat North Neighbourhood House next month.

Delivered by Grampians DisAbility Advocacy staff, the initiative is called the Independent Pathways and Living Skills, or I-PaLS, program and will run throughout the school term from Tuesday 11 July.

Ballarat North Neighbourhood House coordinator Kristen Sheridan said I-PaLS is about strengthening the disabled community.

“This is specifically designed for people with disabilities however it’s very flexible and people don’t have to divulge their information to the group,” she said.

“There’s a real focus on reducing isolation for people in the community so connecting people together is a really important part of the program.

“It’s all about connecting people to the Ballarat North Neighbourhood House. They get to see what we do as well and hopefully be part of our community ongoing.”

Sessions will run weekly from 10am to 2pm until the end of term three, with each capped at 12 people, and those interested need to be registered to take part.

The program will be led by I-PaLS project officer Tadc Quirke who said it’ll cover a range of topics.

“We’ve got four different modules and a whole bunch of different sessions,” he said.

“We go over things from how to move into a house, to cooking and meal planning, to avoiding scams as well as other fun stuff.

“It really depends on what participants want to do. We talk about that when we start and work out what everyone wants to go through as a group.”

To express interest in taking part in the I-PaLS program call 1800 552 272 or email [email protected].