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People First New Zealand Inc. – Nga Tangata Tuatahi
Together we will make it
Graeme Parish, National ChairpersonCindy Johns, National Manager
December 2010
This presentation will cover:
A bit of history
The People First structure
Our logo and song
What we do
How to contact us
People First New Zealand Inc. – Nga Tangata Tuatahi
People First is international
People First started in Salem Oregon in America in 1974.
People First is in many countries like England, Scotland, Australia, Canada and Germany.
People First in New Zealand
People First was started in 1984 in New Zealand.
It was started and supported by Ihc for the first 20 years.
Going independent
In 2003 Ihc supported People First to become an independent organisation.
On the 16th of October 2003 People First launched the independent organisation at Parliament and then we had a party!
The structure
People First is an Incorporated Society We have hundreds of members from all over New
Zealand. To be a member you need to have a
learning/intellectual disability and be over the age of 18
If you can‘t be a member, you can still support the organisation by becoming a Friend of People First’s
Groups and Regions
People First has over 28 local groups that are split into 6 regions
Each region votes for a President and Vice President
The 6 regional Presidents make up the National Committee
The National Committee directs People First NZ
Local groups
Members meet regularly in their local groups and talk about things that are important to the members
Local groups have guest speakers
Self advocacy
Members learn about self advocacy . They learn about their rights and how to speak up for what they want:
in their lives In their community
Local groups work with other disability advocacy organisations such as DPA
Leadership
People First fosters leadership development
Members get a chance to take part in a safe place Know that it is ok to
make mistakes to speak up and have
their say
Speaking up nationally
People First speaks up nationally through:
members being on a range of Committees such as the Office for Disability Issues Council
having our say through submissions and consultations
being part of a group of organisations who meet regularly with the Minister of Disability issues and Ministries
People First logo
The logo represents the stage in the cycle where the Butterfly has shed it’s cocoon of protection and is now ready to take the world on it’s own, full of life and new experiences.
People First song
People First has it’s own song, Together we will make it
This was written when People First became independent
Information and Advice
People First has a Disability information and advice service (DIAS)
This service is for people with a learning disability and anyone else who wants to find out information about learning/intellectual disability.
The service gets contacted by lots of people: Members Family members Doctors lawyers Disability Support services Other organisations
We give out lots of information and advice
Projects
People First also does project work
A Place of Our Own - film , book and forums
Speaking up courses
Work4Us
Works4us is an employment advocacy service.
The idea for this service came from some research People First did in 2004.
The research found out most disabled people did not know their employment rights.
People First set an Work4Us in 2008.
Dave Wickham is the Manager.
The service aims to: Provide good up to date information
about employment issues.
Provide independent employment advocates to support Disabled workers with their employment agreements or minimum wage exemptions (MWEs).
Help other organisations get better at supporting the rights of Disabled workers.
Resources
Works4us have two great resources
Your Rights at Work
A Job Like Anyone Else: Peters Story
We are going to make 2 more films about people at work next year
How to contact People First NZ
To ring National office phone 0800 20 60 70or 04 381 3242 Our web is www.peoplefirst.org.nz Or you can email us on [email protected]
Nothing about us without us
Thank you for listening to us and I hope you have learnt about
People First NZ
