The Gold Coast Disability Expo, held at the Gold Coast Event Centre Friday and Saturday June 7 and 8, presents people still new to NDIS with vital information and services from over 100 disability service providers in service, product, technology and more.
With the NDIS rollout just 12 months old in the Gold Coast and hinterland, now is an important time for individuals with disability and their families.
“People are still coming to terms with how to implement their NDIS plans. The right information in an accessible form is key to helping them transition to the national funding,” Social Impact Institute Senior Advisor and Event Director Kathryn Carey says.
“If they can compare services, ask questions, test new technologies and get the right information, they step back, consider the big picture and make the best decisions – without feeling so overwhelmed.”
Space at the popular expo, held for the first time last year, is completely sold out, with an NDIS booth and over 100 disability service, product, assistive technology, sport and leisure providers on offer to attendees of the two day event.
Q&A sessions and keynote speakers will focus on issues that people in other regions, a year or two ahead in the process, have already come to terms with. Live performances, all-ages entertainment and food and coffee vendors with nearby seating areas will enable attendees to take a break and relax.
Ambassador for the expo is Country Music singer-songwriter Renee McAlpin, who lives in Lismore and was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at ten months of age. By her teens, she had undergone many surgeries and was diagnosed with scoliosis.
“I was always listening to music as a means of coping with my numerous hospital stays,” the artist, who tags herself #wheelchairgirl, says.
Ms MaAlpin was discovered in a country pub and introduced to talent quests.
Over her career, she has produced three albums and worked with Country Music greats Adam Brand, Sara Storer, Cole Finley, Troy Cassar-Daley, Kerry Kennedy and Double Barrel, Adam Kilpatrick and John Stone. She was selected in the top ten artists to sing at Sydney Paralympic Games 2000.
“Last year I attended the Disability Expo on the Gold Coast just as a spectator. And this year I’ll be attending as one of the performers and the ambassador,” Ms McAlpin wrote to fans and friends on her Facebook page.
The Gold Coast Disability Expo is held in the same week as the Gold Coast Seniors Expo which is also to be held at the Gold Coast Events Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday 4th and 5th July.
The Gold Coast Disability expo takes place at the Gold Coast Events Centre on Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8, from 9am to 3pm. Wheelchair-friendly parking and amenities are available.
More about Renee McAlpin
Renee McAlpin website.
More about Social Impact Institute
Social Impact Institute (formerly 4community) has been managing disability expos for five years, developing partnerships with local entities to increase social impact for the greater good of the disability sector. As innovators, creatives and strategic problem solvers, Social Impact Institute links community members with organisations who are interested in developing creative solutions to complex problems.
Venue/Time
Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8
Time: 9am – 3pm
Gold Coast Event Centre, Corner of Jim Griffiths Way & Racecourse Drive, Bundall QLD 4217
Expo links
Website: https://goldcoastdisabilityexpo.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GCdisabilityexpo/
Contact
Kathryn Carey, Senior Advisor Social Impact Institute
0418 969 149
kathryn.carey@socialimpact.institute