Lived experience at heart of disability support provider

P2P staff at the Nambour office, where lived experience and professional knowledge help families navigate disability support.

Business Feature: Parent to Parent Queensland

Parent to Parent Queensland began with something very simple – families helping families.

It was created by parents who understood first-hand how difficult it can be to find clear answers, navigate unfamiliar systems and access the right information while raising a child with disability.

After 28 years, those experiences remain at the heart of the organisation, known as P2P.

Although P2P has grown, its purpose remains unchanged: ensuring people with disability and their families have the information, connections and knowledge needed to make their own decisions.

CEO Jodi Wolthers said the disability sector could be difficult to navigate, particularly for families encountering it for the first time. “People don’t need someone to take over or make decisions for them. They just need someone who understands, who can listen and help them find the information they are looking for,”

P2P provides peer support, self-advocacy programs, skills-building opportunities, information and referral, community education and NDIS plan management.

Its information and referral work connects people with services, organisations, community groups and resources they may wish to explore.

The aim is not to choose a path for someone, but to make sure they understand the options available to them. That could mean finding clear NDIS information, connecting with peer support, learning more about their rights, building confidence to speak up or simply having a trusted place to turn when they’re not sure what comes next.  

Sometimes it simply means speaking with someone who understands.

Peer support brings together people with disability, parents, carers and families walking similar roads, creating space to share questions, frustrations, small wins and overwhelming moments.

Those conversations change with life. A parent seeking information while their child is young may face very different questions when that child becomes an adult.

For ageing parents, thoughts about the future can carry enormous emotion. “No parent really wants to think about a time when they may not be there for their child,” Jodi said. “But having the right information can help families start those conversations. We can help people understand what they might need to consider, what resources are available and where they can go to find further advice.”

P2P has spent more than two decades advocating for the rights, voices and choices of people with disability and their families. As the Queensland agency for Inclusion Australia, the national peak body representing people with intellectual disability, it helps people build confidence, understand their rights, speak up and be heard. P2P also works with community organisations, businesses and government to encourage disability inclusion and communities where people with disability are recognised, included and valued.

It remains a place built from lived experience, where people can find information, connection and confidence to take their next step.•

For more information, phone P2P on 1800 777 723 or visit www.p2pqld.org.au.