Choice Collectives
Enliven Community is a not-for-profit organisation that empowers Australians with disability to be genuine decision makers about their shared supports because we firmly believe that ‘Choice begins with voice’.
Choice Collectives
Enliven Community is a not-for-profit organisation that empowers Australians with disability to be genuine decision makers about their shared supports because we firmly believe that ‘Choice begins with voice’.
What is Choice Collective?
At Enliven, we call a group of people who share in-home disability supports a ‘Choice Collective’ (previously named the Community Cooperative). Our Choice Collective Facilitators support you as the Collective to have genuine choice and control of
- What supports you share — sharing more or less based on your needs, preferences and commitments;
- Who provides your supports — does this provider suit you, if not, who would you prefer?
- How the supports are delivered to suit your Choice Collective’s unique needs and preferences.
Being in a Choice Collective means
- You can make decisions together
- You hear each other out – you can hear each other’s thoughts and experiences
- Your voice is louder as a group – any feedback to providers is louder as a group than individually
- You learn from one another
If you’re currently in an Enliven Community facilitated Choice Collective, you can find out more here.
Being in a Choice Collective means
- You can make decisions together
- You hear each other out – you can hear each other’s thoughts and experiences
- Your voice is louder as a group – any feedback to providers is louder as a group than individually
- You learn from one another
If you’re currently in an Enliven Community facilitated Choice Collective, you can find out more here.
You can read about outcomes Choice Collectives have been getting here.
Choice Collective Facilitator
Our Choice Collective Facilitators are highly skilled Facilitators who are knowledgeable about the NDIS. Their job is to support the Choice Collective to reach collective agreements about the supports they share, and amplify these agreements to the appropriate shared providers. It’s all about the Collective members’ voice – the Facilitator will not make decisions for you or act on your behalf unless you ask them to.
They are here to support the Collective with:
- Informed Choice: Good choices start with a good understanding. Your Facilitator will ensure you have the relevant information you need, in a way that makes sense to you. This includes what your options are, which of your providers is responsible for what, and what the NDIA expects of your provider.
- Communicating with providers: Raising feedback to providers can feel uncomfortable
- Raise things you’re not comfortable with, to your provider: anonymously or using your name – it’s your choice.
- Inclusion and accessibility: Facilitators work to ensure no matter how members communicate, and how they choose to be involved, members feel they belong in the Choice Collective.
- Administration, bringing the group together and keeping meetings on track: Choice Collectives usually come together for meetings so everyone can hear each other’s experiences and thoughts. The Facilitator will be responsible for coordinating this, keeping the meeting on track, agendas and minutes, and everybody feeling included.
What Choice Collective Facilitators won’t do:
- We won’t replace your relationships with your providers: This relationship is vital, and the fastest way to get outcomes. Think of us as an “added layer” to help break down any barriers or misunderstandings and highlight anything providers and clients might need to work on
- We won’t make decisions for you: we’re here to help you decide, not decide for you.
- We won’t act without your permission: we’re here to empower you, not do it for you.
- We won’t support you with individual issues: we can point you in the right direction of who can, but we only work on shared experiences about shared supports.
NDIS Funding of the Facilitator role
The NDIS Review recommended that this Shared Support Facilitator role be commissioned by the NDIA. Shared Support Facilitators are the same as what we call Choice Collective Facilitators – the people we work with told us this is just the term that makes the most sense to them.
We strongly hope this NDIS funding happens, to ensure NDIS participants all over Australia who chose or need to share home and living supports are able to have this valuable support. As people continue to get shared outcomes in plans, this piece of the puzzle ensures choice and control is central to living arrangements.
In the meantime, we are grateful to be funded by the owners of the Enliven Housing properties to provide these services as they so value this for the safety and choice and control of Enliven Housing tenants. There is no charge for facilitation to Enliven Housing tenants.