Notes of Invercargill Organising Meeting 08/04/2024
By Melissa Corbin
Organiser, Disabled United - Invercargill
021 502 504 lisla35@hotmail.com
Today, we held another meeting at Main Street Cafe at 3 p.m. Thank you to those who took time out of their busy days to attend.
National Update:Mike updated us on what has been happening throughout the country in the last week. He reported that five other groups around the country are sharing Disabled United NZ as a way to reach disabled people and the public and as a way to protect the government funding of disabled groups and support organisations.
Setting up systems to share common knowledge so that anyone can jump on board and replicate what works is fantastic.
Mike will send out a weekly newsletter to update those not on Facebook and others about what is happening in NZ.
Invercargill:
We then discussed what we would like to see happen moving forward as we continue to raise our voices against the recent changes to disability funding by the Government. After some discussion, it was decided that tasks needed to be delegated so we could spread the load amongst ourselves and look after each other.
Below is a list of areas we felt needed to be covered in Invercargill and who is responsible for that task:
Protest Organisers:
Mike will be the main organizer, with support from the Harvey family and Shauna. They are responsible for organizing everything we need and making sure the space is accessible and safe for all.
Media:
Tracy and Carolyn will be assisting with media and are available to share their experience and support anyone doing interviews, etc. Melissa will contact Jack to do an interview on the community radio. Also, Sammy may help with live streaming.
Public Meeting:
Melissa and Gordon will approach possible speakers at a public meeting, including getting people to share their stories and, hopefully, some members of Parliament or others who may be able to clarify what is going on. They will find a venue to hold an event, possibly after the next protest, with suitable access for all. Melissa will contact Darren Ludlow to see if he can help.
Other matters
Posters:
We will share the load by focusing on areas where we live or are close to and distributing them around shops, businesses, etc.
Safety Vests:
The Harvey family will look into getting some high-vis vests printed with Disabled United on the back and a logo on the front.
Communication:
To make it easier, a messenger group under Invercargill Disability United on Facebook will be created. This way, the committee can communicate quickly and more efficiently.
We then discussed what we would like to see happen moving forward as we continue to raise our voices against the recent changes to disability funding by the Government. After some discussion, it was decided that tasks needed to be delegated so we could spread the load amongst ourselves and look after each other.
Below is a list of areas we felt needed to be covered in Invercargill and who is responsible for that task:
Protest Organisers:
Mike will be the main organizer, with support from the Harvey family and Shauna. They are responsible for organizing everything we need and making sure the space is accessible and safe for all.
Media:
Tracy and Carolyn will be assisting with media and are available to share their experience and support anyone doing interviews, etc. Melissa will contact Jack to do an interview on the community radio. Also, Sammy may help with live streaming.
Public Meeting:
Melissa and Gordon will approach possible speakers at a public meeting, including getting people to share their stories and, hopefully, some members of Parliament or others who may be able to clarify what is going on. They will find a venue to hold an event, possibly after the next protest, with suitable access for all. Melissa will contact Darren Ludlow to see if he can help.
Other matters
Posters:
We will share the load by focusing on areas where we live or are close to and distributing them around shops, businesses, etc.
Safety Vests:
The Harvey family will look into getting some high-vis vests printed with Disabled United on the back and a logo on the front.
Communication:
To make it easier, a messenger group under Invercargill Disability United on Facebook will be created. This way, the committee can communicate quickly and more efficiently.
Our next meeting will be held at 10am on Thursday 18th April at Main Street Cafe.