Welcome to the Community Hub

 Welcome to the Community Hub, My name is Angel, I am the moderator of the Dignity Project’s Community Hub. As an activist with a particular interest in the rights of people with disability, I was naturally drawn to the Dignity Project and to this role.    

After working in corporate, commercial and non-profit areas in an attempt to affect lasting change in the lives of people with disability, I am excited to embark on this new research adventure with a community of citizen scientists like yourselves.

My standard bio goes something like…Angel is committed to removing the barriers to participation and opportunity that people with disability encounter. She is passionate about inclusion and authentic representation. Angel is the CEO of Attitude Foundation and the Advocacy Manger for Starting with Julius. Angel is also an international Fashion Week model and in 2017 became the first adult agency signed model with a physical impairment to be featured in a national television campaign. For her activism in the area of representation, Angel was named the 2019 Queensland Young Australian of the Year.

That bio states the facts about my career but what it doesn’t share is the reason I am passionate about and committed to accelerating the inclusion of people with disability. As a person with disability, I encounter prejudice and exclusion every day. It can be as subtle as a sorry glance as I roll by a fellow pedestrian on the street or as obvious as being told that I could not be employed because I am a fire hazard. It can be a building with no ramp access or a healthcare worker that speaks only to the person without disability who is with me, not to me directly. My encounters are not unique - exclusion and discrimination are unfortunately part and parcel of life for people with disability.

The interesting side effect to these regular encounters is a fine-tuned lens for both good and bad interactions. Everyone has different experiences and preferences but in general, people with disability have a personal radar for what interactions or environments preserve their dignity or remove it.

This Community Hub was created as a place to capture those lived experiences and turn them into tangible change. Within the Hub, you will find a monthly Moderator’s blog where topical or common experiences will be discussed. You can also take part in the fortnightly forums where you can answer the hard-hitting questions developed by our team. ​​​​​​​

We know that people with disability are the experts on the experience of disability and until such time as we are part of the design of services and policy, dignity will continue to be lost. Your experiences are powerful. Please share the good and the bad with us and help affect lasting change in the Australian medical and rehabilitation environment.