Attitude Arts will develop and provide opportunities for people living with disability and chronic illness to become involved with music-based activities that have public performance outcomes such as theatre productions and 1-day skill development workshops.

Attitude Arts will support a position of 0.1 for 1 year providing an opportunity for a person living with disability develop administrative skills, initiate a Disability Action Plan and with support, administer the Dandenong Ranges Music Council annual Attitude Arts program.

How will we do that?

Attitude Arts will provide inclusive opportunities for creative participation in Yarra Ranges communities to build skills land connect people living with disability and chronic illness.

Health and Disability Funding objectives:

The Attitude Arts program will increase DRMC’s organisational capacity to deliver inclusive opportunities aimed at socially connecting and building skills for individuals living with disability and chronic illness.  The program sets aims and expectations for DRMC staff and Board members as well as participants.  The innovative approach to service delivery involves the development of an organisational role for a person with disability and a strategic direction for DRMC’s Attitude program.

The Attitude Arts program activities will enhance lives and increase the wellbeing of individuals living with disability and chronic illness and their families and carers by:

• Supporting and mentoring an individual with disability to increase their community development skills with the aim of them administering DRMC’s Attitude Program.
• Initiating the process of developing a Disability Action Plan with DRMC staff and Board of Management that will provide a strategic future direction for the delivery of Attitude Arts Activities.
• Providing opportunities for program participants living with disability and chronic illness to further develop personal and performance skills whilst connecting with the wider community through regular workshops and involvement in public presentations.
• Facilitating workshops where participants can collaborate with professional arts workers, musicians and community choirs and work towards publically presenting their creative achievements.
• Connecting people who have become socially isolated as a result of living with disability and chronic illness.
• Building self-confidence and self-esteem of program participants through involvement in regular music, drama and dance workshops that lead to public performance.
• Creating public presentations that program participants, their families and carers can feel proud of.
• Celebrating program participants’ achievements with the wider community through inviting audiences to public presentations.
• General informal family and carers support networks through their relative or client’s involvement in Attitude Arts programs.

The DRMC is committed to providing excellent programs for people living with disability and chronic illness.  The DRMC Attitude programs to date are not just carer respite activities but have inherent expectations for the participants.  Each participant brings existing skill set in the music, dance and drama areas to the Attitude workshops.  The Musical Director, Music Therapist and Dance Therapist collaborate with the participants to develop their skills.  Attitude Arts will be encouraging and mentoring a person living with disability to become involved and assist in designing the content of the program and contribute to DRMC's future strategic direction.

DRMC has already established many partnerships with disability and chronic illness service providers and participants.  The DRMC staff and Board recognise the importance of developing and maintaining these reciprocal relationships.
The Attitude Arts funding will revitalise and create a new sustainable direction for DRMC's Attitude program underpinned by a Disability Action Plan that will increase accessibility for participants.

Identified needs that will be addressed by this project:

• Young adults living with disability or chronic illness in community supported accommodation in the Yarra Ranges have few opportunities to connect with others with similar needs due to lack of availability, accessibility and cost of activities. Most activities that are available provide recreational ‘adult-minding’ outcomes and do not attempt to build individual’s skills.
• Numbers of people with disability and chronic illness, dependent on the Disability Support Pension in the Yarra Ranges are higher in areas of economic disadvantage such as Yarra Junction, Millgrove and Warburton.
• People living with disability and chronic illness are under-represented at an organisational level in the role of self-determining their own involvement in the development and facilitation of accessible arts activities.

Project Manager: Libby Price

Disability Arts Advisor: Andrea Woodberry/Naudi