Caption: (L-R) Candice speaking at Multicap’s 60th birthday event with support from Yari (Self-Advacacy Assistant).
Candice has been a Multicap customer for over six years and has been a part the Self-Advocacy Program since 2018.
Candice has recently gained confidence to present at events and has provided support at two recent Disability Expos held in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. She has also collaborated with Queensland Health on campaigns relating to Ryan’s Rule and COVID-19 vaccines.
Candice’s goal is to support and encourage other people with disabilities to know that they can live fulfilling lives doing what they enjoy. She is passionate about health and being taken seriously about health concerns.
Candice gave this speech to over 50 guests at Multicap’s Nudgee Hub 60th birthday morning tea event on Thursday, 30 June:
Hi everyone, my name is Candice, and I am here to talk about Multicap’s Self-Advocacy Program that we do both here in Nudgee and where I am based at Pine Rivers Hub.  Every second Friday, at my Day centre, me and a few others go to do meetings, we call this the Self-Advocacy Program.  I am one of the leaders in that meeting and we talk about different topics.
I started with the Self-Advocacy Program a few years ago, and I have a learned a lot. One of the biggest things I have learned is how to stick up for myself. Being able to stick up for myself is important because there are still people in the world who try to trick people with disabilities thinking we are not smart people, but as we know that is not true. Other things I have learned with Self-Advocacy, is that what I think and say is important, and it does not always have to be what everyone else thinks, because we are all different. Having different opinions is okay.
Since joining Self-Advocacy, I have had the opportunity to do other activities outside hub that I would not have been able to do if it wasn’t for the Self-Advocacy Program. Just two weeks ago, I did a project and photoshoot with Queensland Health for Ryan’s Rule. It took the whole day, and it was lots of fun helping the government spread awareness about this important issue. It is important to me because I want to make sure that people with disability like me are given the best attention and medical care should they ever need to go to hospital, because we sometimes get ignored and that is not good.
I also recently went to the Disability Expo’s in both Brisbane and Gold Coast. There I got to speak to lots of people and services about my experience as a customer with Multicap. It was great being able to speak with families about all the things I do at Multicap and the wonderful support I get from staff.