S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host Sam Colley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: Some agencies you're just a number for them. But there's
S3: other agencies which do look at what you're capable of
S3: and they'll lift you up and go. You can do this.
S3: And like, just being really encouraging and they can see
S3: your capabilities, I guess. Whereas before with the job network now,
S3: I didn't know what I was capable of until they
S3: seen the potential in me. And so I guess if
S3: you can know your potential and know what you're capable of,
S3: you can do anything.
S2: Welcome to the program. This week we hear from Anne Clements,
S2: a youth mentor and youth worker in the Hunter Valley
S2: who Her experienced vision loss at a young age and
S2: pivoted into a new career, helping out kids and young
S2: people in the Hunter Valley region for the past decade.
S2: You'll hear from him very shortly, so make sure to
S2: stick around to hear more. Then after that, we've got
S2: some news about the upcoming International Day of People with
S2: disability taking place on the 3rd of December. And finally,
S2: this week, Frances Kelland is back with a reader recommended.
S2: I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision.
S2: Growing up, our next guest wanted to be a tattoo
S2: artist more than anything, but 20 years ago, everything changed
S2: when he experienced vision loss and after years of retraining
S2: and upskilling and experiencing various difficulties with unemployment as a
S2: jobseeker with a disability, he landed a role as a
S2: youth worker and mentor with the Top Blokes Foundation. His
S2: name is Ian Clements and I'm very pleased to be
S2: joined by him right now. Ian, welcome to Talking Vision.
S2: Thank you very much for your time today.
S3: Thanks, Sam.
S2: Firstly, Ian, we'll start with a bit of an intro
S2: to yourself. So tell us a little bit about yourself
S2: for the listeners out there. Okay.
S3: So I wasn't born blind. I was born with normal vision,
S3: and I was ten years old when I knew I
S3: wanted to be a tattoo artist. So in all my
S3: free time, I used to draw pictures, and when I
S3: got a bit older, I was tattooing people. And then
S3: I was. 20 years ago, I lost my sight. So
S3: the tattoo dream was out of the window, so I
S3: didn't know what to do after them, and I started
S3: working with a social worker, trying to get me out
S3: and about and done some voluntary work in youth mentoring.
S3: So I really enjoyed doing that. So I went back
S3: to TAFE and done some diplomas and certificates in youth
S3: mentoring and community service. And yeah, so that was in 2006,
S3: I believe, 2005 when I started doing that and done
S3: my diplomas in 2013, 2014. And yeah, since then I've
S3: just been doing youth work. So yeah.
S2: And has that been in, um, just the Top Blokes
S2: Foundation in particular or other sort of places as well?
S3: Uh, when I first started volunteering, it was through the Samaritans.
S3: There was a program called just in the Hunter Valley area,
S3: New South Wales, and, um, it was just mentoring young men,
S3: young girls, taking them on, um, like day trips and
S3: just hanging out with them for people that didn't have
S3: a sort of role models around them. And then, um,
S3: that was, as I said, that was all voluntary. But
S3: then I went on some, um, qualifications in that sector.
S3: And I'm going into my second year nearly coming up
S3: three years next year working with Top Blokes Foundation.
S2: Tell us a little bit about Top Blokes Foundation. And,
S2: you know, the work they do and what your involvement
S2: is there.
S3: Yeah. Cool. Um, so top blokes, it started off in
S3: Wollongong 19 years ago, I believe. They believe that the
S3: young males were underrepresented. And so our boss, Mel, she
S3: saw top blokes just in the Wollongong area and it spread.
S3: And what they primarily are, it's a young men's mental
S3: health mentoring service. So we go to we work with
S3: boys aged between ten and young men 24 and everything
S3: in between, and we go to schools. So if we're
S3: doing a 10 to 13 age group, it goes for
S3: two terms, 20 weeks. And the older boys, they go
S3: for ten weeks and we go through different programs mental health,
S3: healthy relationships, anger management, peer pressure, risk taking, the harmful
S3: effects of drugs and alcohol, and redefining masculinities what it
S3: means to be a man. So there's numerous topics we
S3: go through. So each week's a new topic that we
S3: deal with the boys, and we only do one hour
S3: a day with them.
S2: I want to go back to almost 20 years ago.
S2: I'd have been there when you got into sort of
S2: studying in that sort of, um, you know, youth work
S2: and mentoring. What was it in particular that attracted you
S2: into that field? Had you always sort of had an
S2: interest in it in sort of the back of your mind,
S2: or it was more of a kind of a forced
S2: thing because of the vision loss and things like that.
S2: What was the sort of the situation there?
S3: Well, as I said, I always wanted to be a catalyst.
S3: And once I lost my sight, I was really at
S3: a stop sign and didn't know what to do. I
S3: didn't know what I was capable because I had no schooling.
S3: I didn't complete any schooling, so it's when I'd done
S3: the voluntary mentoring through the Samaritans. I thought, this is
S3: really good work and I just enjoyed being that person
S3: someone could look up to and, um, give what little
S3: teachings here and there. And I just found it to
S3: be a really rewarding job. Yeah, I knew those mentors
S3: around when I was younger, but I didn't know of
S3: any programs. And once I started hearing all the programs,
S3: I'm like, yeah, this is cool.
S2: And what sort of challenges did you face when you
S2: did experience vision loss, and what were the things that
S2: helped you overcome that?
S3: At the start, I was pretty down because, as I said,
S3: I didn't know what to do or where to go.
S3: Then Vision Australia and Guide Dogs got on board. And um,
S3: so I started doing just normal life skills and general mobility,
S3: but because I didn't know what I wanted to do,
S3: I didn't have any ambitions on travelling because I, you know,
S3: as I said, my guide dogs were really in the
S3: vision of Australia, really encouraging get out there. And so
S3: the biggest hurdle was just getting from A to B
S3: to the mentoring programs and to the TAFE campuses. And yeah,
S3: so that was a big support through Vision Australia and
S3: Guide Dogs doing all that. And then once I become
S3: more confident in getting around on my own. Yeah, I
S3: just took it all on.
S2: And Ian, I'm keen to hear about your journey as
S2: a job seeker, especially following your experience of vision loss.
S2: What were the sort of experiences you had there?
S3: Well, at the start I was doing some voluntary work
S3: through Samaritans, but then I got on to a couple
S3: of job network agencies for people with disabilities. One was okay,
S3: I was getting some jobs that sounded interesting, but I
S3: was just a requirements which will hold me back. But
S3: then I got onto another job network called Castle Personnel,
S3: which is another disability job network. And they were really
S3: supportive and they met all my needs and found me
S3: the appropriate jobs that I could do with the requirements.
S3: So if you are struggling, if you went into a
S3: job network and just said, look, I've got a disability,
S3: can you put me in the right direction? I'm sure
S3: they'll be able to point you in the right direction.
S3: So there is many a jobs out there for people
S3: with disabilities. And just if you're fit for the job,
S3: I guess.
S2: Well, absolutely. And it's all about seeing beyond the disability.
S2: And the important message is, you know, a lot of
S2: people are super adaptable. In fact, we probably have to
S2: be more adaptable than ever because of all the different
S2: little bits and pieces that we deal with. So I
S2: think they've got a lot of fantastic skills that we
S2: can offer various organisations. But I know you mentioned in
S2: there there's unfortunately a few misconceptions or a few things
S2: out there where, you know, you go into somewhere and
S2: we don't have to name names here or anything like that. But,
S2: you know, you go in and they say, oh, you
S2: have to have a driver's license. And you say, well, no,
S2: I'm legally blind. I can't, you know, drive a car.
S2: And or they say, oh no, we're going to give
S2: you a job in a factory with all this fast
S2: moving machinery. And you can't think. Well, no, that's not
S2: going to work at all. That's quite dangerous. I don't
S2: want to be in that sort of situation. So it's
S2: also experiencing that. But also great to hear that you
S2: have found somewhere that is much more supportive and does
S2: understand your sort of needs. But what was that like
S2: to experience those other things? And a lot of people
S2: out there, um, unfortunately, are probably nodding their heads because
S2: they can totally relate and thinking, oh, yeah, you know,
S2: that's that's, you know, story of my life.
S3: Yeah. I guess some, some agencies, you're just a number
S3: for them. But there's other agencies which do look at
S3: what you're capable of and they'll lift you up and go,
S3: you can do this. And like just being really encouraging
S3: and they can see your capabilities I guess. Whereas before
S3: with the job network now, I didn't know what I
S3: was capable of until they seen the potential in me.
S3: So I guess if you can know your potential and
S3: know what you're capable of, you can do anything, I guess.
S2: Yeah, well, it'd be quite a challenge living in, um,
S2: a rural New South Wales with not so much public transport.
S2: And if you're, you know, not able to drive, that
S2: does put a fair bit of a spanner in the works.
S2: So yeah, that's definitely, I think, something a lot of
S2: people can relate to if they do live outside of
S2: the major cities, what sort of ways did you negotiate
S2: that to sort of improve your independence and your mobility?
S3: Because I am in a rural town, we do have
S3: a train station, but we're limited to trains. So I
S3: was catching the train. I was getting a lift into
S3: TAFE and into work by support workers and played out.
S3: I was able to catch a train home, so I'd
S3: catch a train home with my guide dog and just
S3: walk from the train station home. Mainly I just rely
S3: on support workers to drive me here and there. As
S3: I said, because the transport where I'm at is really limited.
S3: But I'm getting from a rural town, I'm getting into
S3: the the city, townships and surrounding areas just for support workers.
S2: Are you all right? Okay. Fair enough. And have you
S2: lived in the Hunter Valley for the majority of your life, or.
S2: You've moved around a bit?
S3: No. I've always stayed in the Hunter region.
S2: And that really sort of gives you that really great
S2: local knowledge where you can help those young people from
S2: the local communities. You really sort of understand what they're
S2: going through and the sort of issues they're facing. So
S2: I think that's also a fantastic aspect to all of
S2: that work that you are doing. Let's go into a
S2: little bit of detail about your involvement with Vision Australia.
S2: I know you've spoken about this already a little bit,
S2: but what sort of ways were they able to help
S2: you to negotiate your experiences of vision loss?
S3: Yeah, well, no, they were really good. Um, at this,
S3: when I started using Vision Australia, I started they taught
S3: me how to use a computer with the jaws screen reader.
S3: So when I could see I wasn't a good computer
S3: user anyway. But they improved my computer skills, so I
S3: was able to use a computer, which helped me down
S3: the road when I was back at TAFE studying and
S3: also learn how to read Braille. And yeah, so I
S3: think the biggest thing I've got out of Vision Australia
S3: was the support on life skills, using a computer and
S3: getting from A to B, so that was really helpful.
S2: And what sort of message would you have for people
S2: out there experiencing vision loss and not really sure where
S2: to go or what to do? And because it is
S2: no doubt a very stressful and despondent time.
S3: So if there are anything like that I was when
S3: I could see because honestly, I just thought blind people
S3: had canes and dogs and braille. I didn't know what
S3: was out there for the blind. But there is absolutely
S3: so much out there for blind people to help them
S3: live independently and get out and about on their own,
S3: and they just if you've got barriers up, Vision Australia
S3: will just come in and pull those barriers down. So
S3: just go. The world's open for you. So there's so
S3: much help support out there, whether it's mobility or just
S3: in-home assistance, that you can learn to manage living on
S3: your own.
S2: And and if people would like to find out a
S2: little bit more about top blokes, what's the best way
S2: for them to do that?
S3: Jump on their website. It's just Top Blokes Foundation. If
S3: you look it up on Google, Facebook, there's all the
S3: links and the support work that we do for the
S3: young men, and there's some positive feedbacks that we've got
S3: from parents and even from the boys that have gone
S3: through the program. And our main goal is to minimize
S3: young men's suicide and help them with their mental health.
S3: And we'll fill their tool belt up with all the
S3: good men and a top bloke. So yeah, just jump on.
S3: Top Blokes Foundation and suss us out. We're a good organisation.
S2: I've been speaking today with Ian Clements from the Top
S2: Blokes Foundation about his journey through vision loss to find
S2: a new career in youth mentoring and youth work. And
S2: thank you so much for your time today. It was
S2: great to catch up with you and hear all about
S2: your story.
S3: I appreciate your time. Thanks, Sam.
S2: I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
S2: Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of Reading Radio and the
S2: Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there
S2: with Ian Clements. If you missed any part of that
S2: chat with Ian or you'd love to hear it again.
S2: Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website.
S2: Simply head to RVA radio.org. That's RVA radio.org to find
S2: all past episodes, or you can find the program on
S2: the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision
S2: Australia library. And now we've got some news about the
S2: upcoming International Day of People with disability coming up on
S2: the 3rd of December. That's right. International Day of People
S2: with disability, or IDP is just under a week away.
S2: And that means the Australian Disability Network are wrapping up their.
S2: It's Not hard to be inclusive campaign with week six
S2: entitled Inclusive Attitudes in their video which accompanies the campaign.
S2: One of the participants, Maddie, was asked to give one
S2: word that employers most needed to improve to make their
S2: workplaces inclusive. Her answer was attitudes. We need employers to
S2: think openly and flexibly, she said. These words from Maddie
S2: in their short film highlight perhaps the most fundamental barrier
S2: to workplace inclusion our mindset. And when employers do think differently,
S2: the results speak for themselves. As another participant, Sam says,
S2: organisations that hire people with disabilities are four times more
S2: likely to outperform their peers in shareholder returns. That's not
S2: just good for business. It's transformative for the 5.5 million
S2: Australians with disability who are talented, agile and resilient, just
S2: like Ian, who we heard earlier in the program. That
S2: is one of the main themes of week six of
S2: their Choose Inclusion campaign for 2024 with International Day of
S2: People with disability. As we said, just a week away,
S2: they're focusing on the power of inclusive attitudes to create
S2: lasting change. In this final week, they want to highlight
S2: a fundamental barrier to authentic inclusion, unconscious bias and entrenched attitudes.
S2: And by challenging these biases, valuing diverse experiences and fostering
S2: a culture of respect, they can remove barriers that may
S2: hinder the full participation of people with disability. This week,
S2: the Australian Disability Network is publishing ten tips for inclusive Attitudes,
S2: which offer a foundation for any truly accessible and equitable
S2: workplace and beyond the workplace, they ripple out into the
S2: wider community, deconstructing barriers and influencing cultural change. And if
S2: you'd like to read or download the ten tips for
S2: Inclusive Attitudes, or just find out a bit more about
S2: the It's Not Hard to be inclusive Campaign in the
S2: final week in the lead up to International Day of
S2: People with disabilities. You can, of course, head to the
S2: Australian Disability Network website at Australian Disability network.org dot you.
S2: That's Australian disability network all one word.org dot you. And
S2: for people in the north western suburbs of Melbourne, the
S2: Moonee Valley City Council is running an ad p.w.d. conversation
S2: community Attitudes in Moonee Valley. Join them for a movie
S2: screening and panel conversation as they celebrate people of all
S2: abilities at this special DPW day event. It's held on
S2: the 1st of December, 2024, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
S2: am Australian Eastern Daylight Time at the Village Cinemas Airport
S2: West at eight Lower Street Airport West 342. The event
S2: will feature movie screenings from the Focus on Ability Short
S2: Film Festival, including a panel conversation, as well as an
S2: update on the Moonee Valley City Council's Disability Action Plan
S2: 20 2425, as well as a Q&A and activities for
S2: all ages, including art activities, face glitter, hand massages and
S2: a photo booth. It's free, but an RSVP is required.
S2: Please advise your access requirements at the time of booking,
S2: or contact their Access and Inclusion Officer on Disability at
S2: mvcc dot vicovaro. That's disability at em. They say, say
S2: vasilyovo you. Or you can give them a call on 924388.
S2: That's 9243. Double eight, double eight. The access features include
S2: dimmed lighting, reduced volume during film screening, headsets for audio description,
S2: closed captions, Auslan wheelchair seating, accessible parking, accessible toilets, and
S2: a social story to come. Please indicate if you'll be
S2: seated with a friend or family or support person or carer,
S2: and you are more than welcome to bring your own
S2: ear defenders or headphones if required. They'll do their best
S2: to arrange your preferred seating, and you can select your
S2: preference when ordering your ticket. To get there, you can
S2: take the For double seven, four, seven, 8 or 902
S2: bus to Lewis Street, or you can take the 59
S2: tram to stop 59. And if you'd like to ride
S2: your bike, there are bike racks available and you can
S2: plan your journey using the PTV Journey Planner. And if
S2: you'd like to book to head along to the event
S2: in Moonee Valley, simply head to the Eventbrite website at eventbrite.com.
S2: Dot you that's eventbrite.com dot a u and search for
S2: community attitudes in Moonee Valley or an IDP WD conversation.
S2: And now here's Frances Kelland with a reader recommended.
S4: The next book is another non-fiction book. It's called Whatever
S4: Happened to Brenda Hean, and it's by Scott Millwood. Brenda Hean,
S4: a dentist's wife, was a part of the Hobart establishment.
S4: She made a very unlikely environmental activist. But Lake Pedder
S4: was one of those special places. She and a collection
S4: of like minded people took it upon themselves to save
S4: the Mountain Wilderness Lake from inundation to form a dam
S4: for the Hydro-Electric Commission, and in the process founded the
S4: first green political party in the world in September 1972.
S4: Brenda Hean left Hobart in a Tiger Moth aircraft being
S4: piloted by Max price. They were flying to Canberra to
S4: write Save Lake Pedder across the sky above Parliament House,
S4: and to meet with government officials in an attempt to
S4: gain federal political support for their campaign. The plane was
S4: cited several times as it made its way across the island,
S4: but never reached its destination. Neither the plane nor its
S4: passengers were ever seen again. 35 years of conspiracy theories
S4: have surrounded the intriguing story. But in 2003, a secret
S4: source gave celebrated documentary filmmaker Scott Millwood a package with
S4: the advice in quotes use this for good. In it
S4: were the police files detailing the investigation of the case.
S4: Scott Millwood has made a documentary based on his attempts
S4: to uncover the truth while eyewitnesses are still alive. This
S4: is the book of that film. Let's hear a sample
S4: of Whatever Happened to Brenda Hean by Scott Millwood. It's
S4: narrated by the wonderful Humphrey Bower.
S5: A man has painted the same scene for 50 years,
S5: over and over, in endless variation. In it, a foreground
S5: of white sand and button grass creep beyond the dunes,
S5: and long tracts of tannin stained water are a sweep
S5: of watercolor that become a lake stretching to fill the
S5: paper until the purple mountains demand an end. Again and again,
S5: the artist Max Angus paints the same lost place. Again
S5: and again in his brushstrokes. The waters have not banked
S5: up behind a dam. Again and again the lake's highland
S5: beach has not been drowned. Again and again he is
S5: on this stretch of mountain sand with his homemade watercolour
S5: board set in his lap, its windbreaks sheltering the page
S5: and pools of liquid colour. And he in his army
S5: slouch hat, side by side with his friends. The painters
S5: looks up across the beach to the Frankland Range and
S5: Mount Solitary and the Sentinels and other mystic rocks beyond,
S5: and knows that he is in a place called home
S5: after so many stories of people who have lost their memories.
S5: Here is a story about losing forgetting. I imagine a
S5: film that begins with these words. As I sit in
S5: the drawing room of the home of Max Angus in Hobart,
S5: pulling him away from his paints and his paper so
S5: that he might set me off on my search for
S5: the Tasmania of the past. The room looks over the
S5: river that forms the looping cartographic harbour, its mouth opening
S5: to the south, shining blue, sparkling and flashing its seemingly
S5: benign smile at the mountain that rises up from its foreshore.
S5: Orientating the people of the city. I draw up two
S5: armchairs and a teak coffee table to hold the tray
S5: that will soon arrive. The interior of this room at
S5: the top of the house has not changed in three decades.
S4: That was whatever happened to Brenda Hean by Scott Millwood
S4: Scott is spelt s c o double t c o
S4: double T Millwood is spelt m I. Double LW00DMI double LW00D.
S4: And that book goes for nearly ten hours.
S2: And that's all the time we have for today. You've
S2: been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
S2: Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
S2: show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
S2: So please get in touch any time on our email
S2: at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all
S2: one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's
S2: Sam Collins saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 406 or by visiting Vision australia.org.
S1: That's Vision australia.org.