Ballarat’s own Narelle Fairweather was the winner of the ‘Excellence in promoting health, housing and wellbeing category’ in the 2021 Victorian Disability Awards.
The Victorian Disability Awards honour the contributions of Victorians who support, lead, educate and advocate for people with disability. The Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of individuals, teams and organisations that increase the rights and participation of people with disability.
Narelle won the “Excellence in promoting health, housing and wellbeing” award category, in recognition of her efforts in making a tremendous difference to the quality life of many different people with disability.
Narelle has supported dozens of people with disability to find suitable accommodation. She has saved people at risk of homelessness and placed them into environments where they have been able to prosper and grow.
She has broken down perceptions and barriers resulting in people with disability being able to move into homes within the rental market. By treating them with empathy, thoughtfulness and respect, she has supported many people to live satisfying everyday lives.
Narelle lives and breathes advocacy for her clients and for people with disability in general. Outside of her day job as a Support Coordinator at Nextt, Narelle has been involved in Voice 99.9 FM’s weekly “Radioactive” show for over 8 years, supporting community activities for people with disability.
It was her profound piece of advocacy that helped break down perceptions, remove barriers and open a new market for people with disability to find homes in the rental accommodation market.
Through sheer genius in its simplicity, Narelle represented each-and-every one of her clients as human beings and found forever homes for 19 of her clients who were at risk of homelessness.
This is just one example of the steps Narelle will take to create positive, meaningful outcomes, and enhance the lives of many, many of her clients.
The winners of the 2021 Victorian Disability Awards were celebrated at an awards ceremony on 28 September 2021.