Skill-up marginalised people, because we can’t ethically put you through our lived experiences

Birds of a feather? Catherine Caine and Fiona Moore

So the Anglicare panel went well, just wended up being me and Catherine from AUWU (my boss) as Nathan from Hunter Jobs Alliance was unwell, so more intimate, but yeah, I’m exhausted but it was good and I think we got some great messages across.

Much of the discussion was around supporting people with lived experience – whether poverty, mental illness, disability, trauma and so on – to use our experiences to drive change and how that could work better and be better for all involved. Catherine reflected on how AUWU have pulled back from getting unemployed people to give testimony at Senate and related hearings as going through that trauma or telling their stories in such as forum, while cathartic for some, is re-traumatising for others and, like I’ve previously discussed, the limited lip-service paid and feeling otherwise ignored is starting to get to even the most experienced advocates. It doesn’t mean we won’t support each other and anyone who wants to tell their story to do so, but it’s about being more selective about where and when and how that occurs. AUWU and the Antipoverty Centre being able to pay people to write their stories when we get editorials weeks at Power to Persuade is one. Connecting welfare recipients with journalists and publications we know have been sensitive and accommodating is another.

Another is getting marginalised people into the roles where the changes are being made. And not just to be consulted, to be asked questions and hope your thoughts are included in the end product. Yesterday we called for marginalised people to be included from start to end, and treated (and paid) as equals. We may not have the skills or experience or qualifications in policy writing, in media, in being CEOs, in stats, but those are all things that can be taught. Unlike, as I argued, lived experience.

You can’t, ethically, give people genuine lived experience of poverty, disability, trauma and so on. You could cosplay it for a few weeks for a tv show, or be blindfolded for the day, or be a carer of someone who’s lived the experience, but you won’t genuinely have lived experience, as it always comes to an end.

So, identify talent within the community you support and look at how that enthusiastic person can be supported to develop the skills necessary to work with you on that project, to take your job, to be your boss. Invest in people.

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Hitting Spring Running

Well, I mourned winter, but feel like I’m emerging into Spring with a new lease on life (cough be damned). It’s still with me when I transition between scenes, like moving to the kitchen, or getting up in the morning. But it passes, and it’s not infectious at least, so it just sucks for ME and that’s fine, hey?

I do feel a sense of mental clarity though, which is great timing, having just become the first employee of the unemployed workers union and having to be able to switch on in a professional sense for at least three hours a week. Nothing too out of my comfort zone, not that anyway, it’s all social media and PR, things I’ve been doing since I started online journaling on diaryland in 2000, or livejournal and blogs from 2001.

I’m putting together my intro on what my work is, personally, and with the Antipoverty Centre ahead of the panel Monday, which I’m not freaking out about but I haven’t done one before in any capacity. But she’ll be right, so long as my cough holds off and doesn’t want to kick in because I’ve talked too much as it did this morning in group.

Thankyou all for coming along for this ride, and happy wear it purple day!

Mourning Winter

Records breaking again and again, apparently 39 degrees in Winter is possible in Central Australia, and they got it this week in Oodnadatta. On the east coast, we’re getting high 20s, not entirely unusual for August, but that it’s continuing so many days in a row seems to be. Looking across the road to the RFS, I hope those burns through winter were enough because we’re in for a long hot summer.

We were in the shower this morning and my  partner turned it up to warm his legs, I said to him to enjoy it because I don’t think we’re gonna need the heater again this year and that that air con will probably be on at lunch a few times this week, if the boys come home for lunch, so they can cool down and not feel like dying in the heat. We’ve started summer prep – making sure there’s zinc and sunscreen, a couple new pairs of cheap sunnies, and hats and shirts and shade and the shade sails. Water bottled in the fridge and freezer, eskies and ice packs. People are wanting to get their boats and caravans all dolled up for Spring already, so it’s on.

It’s four months til Christmas, but, along with my annual will I get a lease extension myself to stay here for Festivus, my sister will have to find a new rental in the next few months, having being given notice, and there’s places, but whether they’re suitable for 4 kids, or close enough to schools and therapies and Dads to not cause too much upheaval, all the things. I hate the housing situation in this country. I truly do.

Finally dragged myself to the GP and scored some drugs – prednisone steroids to strengthen my weak lungs. And that’s kicking in, which I’m grateful for. So I should be able to at least hold a sentence in a week at that panel, and perhaps enlighten people on how us ground level advocates can help change the world. I hope I also get more of my works back, because I’ve had more word-finding difficulties since the last Covid bout, and while I’m a master of circumlocution, not so helpful when time limited. Also keeping an eye on my swallowing and saliva control, I think I just need to be more mindful of it, they always said in uni that swallowing function starts declining after 40, so for me to be coughing and gagging more after these latest illnesses isn’t a shock. I also need to chew my dry food like chips or popcorn. I hate having to pay attention in order to do basic life things.

SO, I’m fuzzy but getting there. Repurpled my hair, even shaved my legs. Spring IS here. Vale, Winter.

Odds are, Bill, the sun WILL come out tomorrow, but the vulnerable will be worse off, and I don’t see Labor changing that any time soon

So Bill thinks we’re all getting a little hysterical when we say that people will die because of the NDIS legislation they’ve pushed through with Pauline’s help. He tells us not to be anxious and that the sun’ll come out tomorrow. I know it will Bill, it’ll be above average temperatures all week on the East Coast and all. But people will be worse off, and have their care needs neglected because of your legislation. They will also be more vulnerable to taking their own lives because of losing supports that keep them safe and healthy, and because of punitive Robo whatever actions you’re overseeing with the lovely staff leftover from Robodebt that have found new lives in the NDIA compliance teams.

I’m not going to put in links to reference this post, I’m sick, and have a GP appointment at 12.15. One that I get to pay $80 upfront for because your government has not helped Medicare bulk billing, and nowhere around here routinely bulk bills concession card holders anymore.

Jimmy’s also promised that he won’t do anything on the welfare end either in the lead up to the election. So, we don’t have to worry about being hopeful or disappointed and we can move straight into getting the Greens and Independents to promise real action on welfare. We have all the evidence that lifting welfare to the poverty line won’t affect Jim’s Inflation, but Labor won’t help us, so it’s time to go around them. Jimmy said this morning there’ll be a March budget ahead of the May election. So that’s his last chance to disappoint us and tell us he thinks we deserve poverty to make his bottom line look nicer.

Are you a unionist? How are you feeling about the Labor- Union relationship with the CFMEU? You don’t have to think that the CFMEU are good or bad to agree that it seems a bit of overreach and a real threat to the union movement to have worked with the LNP to impose 3 years administration….

So, I want a magic answer from the GP, I need to this cough gone. It’s getting in the way of me actually getting out and doing the things I’m otherwise ready to do mentally. I need to be able to talk. And yell. And scream. And rage against this fucking machine.

Middle fingers up til the reaper shows up.

Coughing and Perfectionism

I coughed a lot as a child. My colds always continued on for weeks into night coughs and it was a great break mover the period of covid shut down and precautions not to have a regular cold that trailed on for weeks disturbing my sleep and just being unpleasant.

I have one horrible memory of a coughing fit. In about grade 6, I was singing in choir before and assembly. And I started coughing. Turning away to cover my face but trying to stay with it in between. That was touch enough until the strict kindergarten teacher that had taught for centuries came up and pulled me aside on the stage as the rest of the school came in for the assembly. She told me offndor turning away to cough and told me it was rude or distracting or something. And then of course I start coughing in front of her. “Don’t cough at me” she yells and I say big can’t help it I have a cough. Eventually she let’s me go and I head outside and cry. Another , also known as strict teacher sees me and I cry that I have a headache and she let’s me sit outside for the assembly and calm down.

I wonder if it was connected that this was the teacher I had in kinder when I got upset at home because I was too sick to go to school and distressed I’d fall behind.

Who knows

I used to get jealous of the kids who got kept home from school less sick than me.

But at least I was a good kid and never shut in the storeroom.