Community Access and Participation Workbook
Part One: Understanding Community Access and Participation
Question 1
- a) Community access is the ability of people living in the same environment to have the opportunity or right to benefit or use something of their choice (Hammel, et al., 2008). The term may also be used to mean the opportunity or right to approach someone or to enter a particular place.
- b) Participation involves taking part in an activity or activities that are either compulsory or voluntary. Such activities usually include a group of individuals with the same or different agenda.
Question 2
Participation is defined as an end or expression of collective and personal values. Participation was viewed by people as an expression of personal values (Hammel, et al., 2008). They did not see it as a defined, normative set or preset of arguing, activities, spiritual aspects, recreation, family, and working among others. It is worth noting that participation involves a wide range of factors that are both mental and physical making it a complex phenomenon. Each of the aspects differs from one person to another because people have their value systems. People pursue different things in life which make participating in one thing quite challenging. Several themes that were about core participation values were evident across focus groups. They included; control and choice, societal and personal responsibilities, opportunity and access enfranchisement, and meaningful and active engagement (Hammel, et al., 2008). It also involves supporting other people and having an impact on the society. The fact that participation involves the above set of factors makes it a difficult activity.
Question 3
- a) Meaningful and active engagement/Being a part of people is defined and described participation as taking part in a certain activity such as a social scene, a specific context, or social group (Hammel, et al., 2008).
- b) Control and choice: Taking risk was established to have a close linked to concepts of control and choice over the decision of when and how to be part of an activity (Hammel, et al., 2008). Participation was also established to have an association with control, choice and some sense of power. It also encompasses the freedom to act on something.
- c) Enfranchisement/ Acess and opportunity: Power, whether it is a collective group or individual level, it has a closely related to opportunity and societal access (Hammel, et al., 2008).
- d) Societal and personal responsibilities: participants discussed participation a social responsibility. It was viewed as a responsibility of a person and his/her family, society and community in general. Personal responsibility for an individual’s well-being was described as managing health, maintaining sobriety, and working hard in the process of rehabilitation (Hammel, et al., 2008).
- e) Supporting people and having an impact on them: Giving back to the society in different ways and having an impact on people were core values reflecting why it was important to contribute to the society.
- f) Society inclusion, social connection, and membership: Apart from giving back, social connection was seen as a vital feature of participation (Hammel, et al., 2008). To have full participation in life involves interacting socially, mentally and physically with other people in the community.
Question 4
Taking control was linked to the concepts of choice and deciding when to conduct a certain activity. Participation is associated with control, choice and some sense of personal power. It, therefore, means having the freedom to do something at any time you feel like. Control and choice are closely related to performing an activity independently because they all describe performing activities and one’s will (Hammel, et al., 2008). Control means the ability to regulate what you choose to do. Independently conducting an activity will involve the ability to control oneself so as to make a well-informed decision.
The terms may also have a different meaning especially if there is an external force influencing certain activities. One individual may dictate how a particular activity should be conducted; other people may be required to follow the rules even if it is against their wish. If a person is not in a position to make a personal choice and control what they want to do, activities become dependent on external factors (Hammel, et al., 2008).
Question 5
Personal and societal responsibilities as discussed from the article are a great influence in my career and daily activities. I have learned that we have to think about our surrounding as much as we may want to think about ourselves. Community members, friends, and family, are all important to our lives because of the influence our decisions and activities. Their actions also affect us in one way or the other (Hammel, et al., 2008). We should feel that we have the responsibility to take care of our health and that of the society. It, therefore, means that we should join hands in activities of managing health, maintaining sobriety and rehabilitating people. Such activities relate to my career because I learn that taking care of other people indirectly means improving our health. Our peers and people we spend time with having a major influence in our lives. We tend to take their behavior or we may get infected if they have infectious diseases. It is, therefore, important to have a social and personal responsibility to avoid such incidences.
Part Two: Rights of People with Disabilities
Question 1
People have equal rights to be treated with respect and dignity. They also should have the same opportunities as the rest of the members of the Australian community. It should be basic right granted to every individual living in Australia (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). Everyone in the world wants to live in a simplified and dignified society where they have high self-esteem and the confidence to speak their mind out. People should also feel free have equal access to resources despite their physical conditions.
When it comes to employment in health care centers, people with disability should be allocated a certain proportion of employment opportunities. It is important to give people with disabilities privileges such as serving them first and having special facilities to ensure that they do not encounter challenges while seeking medical attention. It is also important to also give scholarship opportunities to people with disabilities so as to make sure that they have a sense of belonging and make them feel honored.
Question 2
If anyone wants to make a complaint, it must be done in writing to express the point of concern. A complaint form may be filled, faxed or posted to the relevant body that should address the issue. Complaints can be submitted online via the human rights website. The complaint can also be done in the preferred language to ensure items are described well. It is worth noting that a lawyer is not required while making complaints (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). The human rights department addresses complaints that are in line with their area of jurisdiction. The complaints are either addressed or not, if not addressed the human rights commission gives reason of why they cannot address the issue.
Question 3
Discrimination still exists in the community due to various reasons. For instance, the number of people with disability in any given society is very low. As a result, people do not find the need to protect their rights. People with disability do not form strong organizations that are actively involved in protecting their rights (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). People, therefore, find such organizations weak such that it becomes easy for them to break rules. On the other hand, public campaigns are not aggressive in addressing such issues to ensure that people understand the rights of physically challenged people. Creation of awareness is not done frequently thus people tend to forget their rights and to get involved in activities that help them stand up for their rights. Physically challenged people do not get sufficient funds to cater for activities such as education, financing their organizations, conducting public campaigns and awareness as well as reporting cases to the court to ensure that suitable action is taken against offenders (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.).
Part Three: The Australian Social Context
Question 5
The concept of disability is quite common in the modern society. There is an aspect of inequality in the society where some people think that they are better off than others. Most people look down upon the physically challenged people thus lowering their self-esteem. As a result, the physically challenged people feel left out such that they find it difficult to participate in various activities of such as community development and fighting for their rights (National People with Disabilities and Carers Council, 2009). The concept of disability is quite common leading to adverse effects such as denial of basic rights. Many organizations that housed people with disabilities are now closed. Australians with disabilities can now enjoy a wide range of privileges such as the right to freely interact with other members of the society. Once people with disabilities are shut in, they start living a lonely and desperate life of isolation and exclusion. As a result, they are not in a position to take part in community development activities. In the past, such people were physically segregated. During that time, they found themselves politically, socially, and culturally isolated. They were also silent, invisible and ignored. They struggled hard to be seen and heard.
In 2008, the government of Australia became concerned and laid out different measures of addressing the problem (National People with Disabilities and Carers Council, 2009). The government was committed to ensuring that individuals with disability had the opportunity to equally participate in cultural, social, and economic life of Australia. Both individuals and organizations submitted their recommendations on the issue to be addressed as well as their view on the problem. It was later concluded, that the issue of disability in Australia had to be addressed.
Question 6
Stereotypes and misconceptions about disabled people are widespread in the community. They include a burden, danger or threat to the lives of other members of the society. It is believed that individuals with disability are not in a position to effectively take part in activities that benefit the entire community. Such people are believed not to have equal value as other community members. As a result, they are not actively involved in community development activities. When people with disability face rejection and discrimination, they lose self-esteem and the urge to interact with other people as well as to take part in activities that lead to an improved community (National People with Disabilities and Carers Council, 2009).
In every society values such as wealth, power, intelligence, self-control, beauty and physical prowess, and autonomy predominate. People with disability in such areas are devalued and marginalized in such a way that their opinions do not matter. People with disability are therefore not involved because they are not treated as part of the society.
References
Australian Human Rights Commission (n.d.) A brief guide to the Disability Discrimination Act. Available at: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/brief-guide-disability-discrimination-act
Hammel, J., Magasi, S., Heinemann, A., Whiteneck, G., Bogner, J., & Rodriguez, E. (2008). What does participation mean? An insider perspective from people with disabilities. Disability & Rehabilitation, 30(19), 1445-1460.
National People with Disabilities and Carers Council (2009) Shut Out: The experience of people with disabilities and their families in Australia. Available at: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/nds_report.pdf
