Introducing Afford’s human rights advocates

In our organisation, something new and exciting is happening. We’ve formed the Afford Human Rights Advocate Group. This group is all about making sure we follow rights-based practices and promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in everything we do at Afford.

The Afford Human Rights Advocate Group is made up of clients who use Afford’s services and employees who wanted to be a part of it. They’ve been trained to do their job, and they work together to support each other and share their ideas.

Afford client, Kellie, joined the group to advocate for disability and mental health. She said, “I feel like we know about people with a disability, more than we know about people with a disability and mental health issues. So, I want to make sure that we have someone who has them both. Someone like me. I hope we can give everyone a voice and create better outcomes to make sure everyone is respected.”

This group is exciting because it’s the first of its kind at Afford. As advocates, their main goal is to make sure everyone in our community understands human rights. This includes the people who use our services, their families, and our employees. They want to make sure that everyone knows what human rights are, why they’re important, and how to make sure these rights are respected in our daily choices and decisions.

Michael Power, a supported employee at Afford is enjoying the opportunity to work with wonderful people. “I wanted to join this group because I am in a position to help those in need. We have bonded to become respectful to each other. Being able to work with people with a disability is an honour,” he said.

What our advocates do

Help others understand: Advocates help others at Afford learn how to talk about human rights.

Plan programs: They help decide what activities we should do each month.

Create materials: Advocates help make flyers, write stories, and create videos to explain human rights to everyone.

Talk to people: They also talk to managers and employees during meetings to help them understand human rights.

Speak up for others: Advocates speak on behalf of the people who use our services and our employees to make sure everyone at Afford respects human rights.

In a nutshell, the Afford Human Rights Advocate Group is a team that’s here to make sure that human rights are a big part of what we do at Afford and in our community. They’re like guides, helping us all understand and respect human rights for everyone.

Meet the advocates

These passionate people make up our Human Rights Advocate Group: Aby Hutchinson-West (Employee), Cecilia Jones (Employee), David George (Employee), Guy Laurenceson (Supported Employee), Ivy Clark (Employee), Jamie Elvy (Client), Jill Maginnity (Employee), Joy Ayash (Client), Judith Briggs (Supported Employee), Kell I (Client), Kendra Andrews (Employee), Lyndal Stuart (Employee), Mariska Tribelhorn (Employee), Michael Power (Supported Employee), Michelle Burton (Employee), Nat Matheson (Employee), Roslyn Hughes (Supported Employee), Sharon Dyet (Employee), Shehan Micheal (Employee), Steve (Employee).

Read more

As a rights-based organisation, Afford is committed to ensuring and promoting the human rights of people with disability. You can read our Human Rights Policy on our website: afford.com.au/about/policies.