Geraldton-based MEEDAC ends year-long wait for help

A Geraldton-based Aboriginal corporation is helping disengaged people find meaningful employment while getting people with disabilities the help that they need.

Carnamah man Martin Beck lives with a disability and is registered with the NDIS. He needs a bit of help now and then, but because he lives regionally, he struggles to access the support he is entitled to.

Mr Beck spent more than a year waiting for help.

In early November, the Midwest Employment and Economic Development Aboriginal Corporation connected him with someone in nearby Yandanooka who needed help entering the workforce.

Working with the service providers, MEEDAC took care of the red tape — like the ABN, insurance and taxes — and connected the pair, who blossomed from strangers to friends and enriched each other’s lives.

Mr Beck’s support worker travels to Carnamah twice a week, helping with everything from yard clean up to social outings in the community.

MEEDAC Workforce Solutions now connects support staff with 26 NDIS clients across the remote Mid West and Southern Goldfields.

General manager Milton Milloy said: “We take one guy fishing, another lady we take to Geraldton for medical appointments and shopping. It’s all funded. We just make sure it works.”

It’s not just about the clients. The program is also boosting the self-esteem of people who struggle to engage with the workforce.

He said the casual work helped one woman apply for a home loan she could not have afforded otherwise, while another booked in for some much-needed dental work.

Mr Milloy said MEEDAC was even looking at helping upskill people, turning the casual opportunity to help into meaningful careers.

“As you improve people’s lives in a community they start to feel better about themselves.”