By Casey Neill
Melba Support Services has set up in the heart of Dandenong.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a major focus for the not-for-profit, which has opened its doors on Walker Street.
Innovation and development manager David Glazebrook said Melba would be running NDIS sessions to explain the program and its impacts.
“It’s an evolving landscape,” he said.
“We’ve been involved with it since last year.
“Because we’re actively involved with it, we know a reasonable amount about it.
“A lone person or family won’t have the awareness.
“The joy of the NDIS, it’s about the people with the disability going ‘this is what I want’.
“We’ve got families that we support now at one level going ‘I’m looking forward to this’, but panicking because they don’t understand it.
“We’re just keen to engage with people and talk to people.”
On 6 December last year, Melba was one of five businesses to receive a Greater Dandenong Business Grant at Dandenong Civic Centre.
The grant included up to $8000 plus business mentoring and marketing valued at about $2000.
Mr Glazebrook said Melba’s cash went towards shopfront signage, rent and a website redesign.
“We’re putting in a language translator,” he said.
“We hope it will be online at the end of April.
“We need to reengage with some of these communities.
“We need to find out what their needs are with disability, and we have to provide the appropriate support.”
He’s no stranger to Dandenong.
Mr Glazebrook managed the Visy Cares Centre for young people in Clow Street, now home to the Greater Dandenong Council’s youth services team.
“I also used to run Impact Support Services. We were a disability agency in the southern region,” he said.
“We were based in Oakleigh.”
They sought someone to merge with in 2010, and finalised a deal with Melba on 1 July 2015.
“Someone bought the office in Oakleigh, so we had to move,” he said.
“We based ourselves in Lilydale.”
Mr Glazebook said Melba’s expertise was with complex disabilities.
“They’re the people we want to look after into the future,” he said.
“Some of the people we’re involved with we have 24-7 involvement.
“They need that level of care.”
He said his team – which was four part-timers strong and growing – could do a lot over the phone and online “but people want to meet you”.
“I wanna meet whoever’s going to give me that care,” he said.
“We wanted to reopen an office in the southern region.
“Dandenong is a real central hub of this region.”
