Lena Ladhams the Group Support, & co-ordinator of the Vision Australia I-Sight Community Group joins Simon and Andrew for an informative & interesting chat. We learn all about what this monthly community group has to offer and its main purpose & aims.

Lena has been supporting this free community group since 2022, as a volunteer to assist with the coordination and facilitation of the group. Hosted by Vision Australia Perth is available to anyone who is blind or low vision. The group offers the opportunity to connect, listen and share experiences with others in a friendly and social environment.

Mostly the group learns from each other in a supportive friendly environment. They sometimes also might get in guest speakers or go on recreation activities & events.

Lena’s passion and dedication is tremendous and we got a real sense of the value and importance of this type of group, bringing people together allowing them to explore and discover from each other different ways of living with blindness or low vision.

Join like-minded individuals for a quick catch-up chat or a lengthy ‘Yarn’ and a cuppa once a month.
Date: Third Wednesday of every month
Time: 10.00am – 11.30am
Venue: Senses WA - Level 4, 20 Parkland Road, Osborne Park

Lena Ladhams
Group Support Volunteer
Vision Australia.
E: Lena.Ladhams@visionaustralia.org
http://www.visionaustralia.org

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This week on In Plain Sight we had the delight of talking with Cara Gilkison, one of the founding members of the singing group The Lights.
This fabulous group of singers and musicians are a group of five legally blind people who all love playing music and singing. They came together, initiated by Cara who leads the group, to start singing for a Christmas event in 2024.They are also fond favourites at the music appreciation afternoon at Visibility.
Cara shares her lifelong appreciation and love of all things music.It was wonderful to hear from Cara about her personal passions for music as well as how she values being part of a community. We learn how all the members of this group really value the opportunity to share their abilities and not just be confined to limitations arising from our disabilities.
As Christmas is quickly approaching it’s fantastic to hear bout these types of community based groups who love to share their time and talents to help brighten the lives of others.And who doesn’t enjoy a good sing-along at Christmas or anytime.
Cara’s story is just another fine example of fantastic people trying to make a positive difference and impact in the disability sector and their community. And it has been a great pleasure to bring you these stories every week, & shine a light on those who would be otherwise hidden in plain sight. - Many Thanks

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Recently a team from DADAA, in Fremantle, Western Australia went to Canberra to conduct some interviews and other projects for Radio DADA. And, this week on In Plain Sight Simon has collated three samples of their fabulous work and reporting from Parliament House.

We have chosen three interviews that the Radio DADA Reporters conducted with two politicians and one Parliament House staff person with links to Disability. It’s fantastic to hear directly from people working in this space about both their personal and professional life experiences as people with a disability.

It is estimated that from the 226 parliamentarians there are about 4 openly disabled people identified in a 2025 research analysis of Australia's federal Parliament.

A 2025 Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplace Report found that 12.5% of the 56 parliamentarians who provided diversity information reported a long-term health condition, mental illness or disability affecting routine tasks. That is approximately 7 people in that responding group, not the full Parliament.

And, we have captured the thoughts of 3 of this cohort.
We really appreciated what DADAA have done here and think it is a fascinating group of conversations.
A very interesting listen - please Enjoy

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