FOUR fresh faces have joined the Surf Coast Shire’s All Abilities Advisory Committee (AAAC) after 25 people responded to a call for expressions of interest.<\/p>\n
The successful applicants were Courtney Griffen, Lauren Smith and Kate Toholka, from Torquay, as well as Deans Marsh resident Thomas Byrnes.<\/p>\n
Each will serve a three-year term and were selected based on lived experience, a strong connection to the shire and a passion to improve access and inclusion for people with a disability on the Surf Coast.<\/p>\n
AAAC co-chair Richard Porter said the committee had 14 members and it was important to have representation from people living with a disability.<\/p>\n
“We’ve always had a mix of people on the committee, but we wanted lived experience,” Mr Porter said.<\/p>\n
“It means new faces, new ideas and new thoughts. Walking down the street is not easy for some individuals and they share those experiences with the committee.”<\/p>\n
The new members are:<\/p>\n
Courtney Griffen, a social worker who lives with multiple sclerosis and wants to create awareness about things able-bodied people don’t need to worry about such as disabled parking, footpaths and curbs, and opening and closing doors.<\/p>\n
Kate Toholka is a business analyst at the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) who lives with profound hearing loss, wearing hearing aids since childhood.<\/p>\n
Oncology nurse Lauren Smith is a carer to her autistic son and is the founder of Surf Coast Autism Group, a local support group for carers of children with autism.<\/p>\n
Thomas Byrnes who has lived experience with neurodiversity, is studying Auslan and has an interest in IT and climate change.<\/p>\n
The AAAC meets six times a year and is made up of community members, representatives from service organisations, council officers, and a councillor representative. Find out more by visiting surfcoast.vic.gov.au or call 5261 0600.<\/p>\n
To read more about Kate Toholka’s journey through life with a hearing impairment turn to the Times Living section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FOUR fresh faces have joined the Surf Coast Shire’s All Abilities Advisory Committee (AAAC) after 25 people responded to a call for expressions of interest. The successful applicants were Courtney Griffen, Lauren Smith and Kate Toholka, from Torquay, as well as Deans Marsh resident Thomas Byrnes. Each will serve a three-year term and were selected […]<\/p>\n