Joey’s Story “Having a sense of myself” (Marilyn Monroe)

At SDA Services, we pride ourselves in being an employer of people with disability and family members of people with disability, providing our clients with access to authentic experiences, leading to effective policy and compassionate, sound practice. By working with people with “lived experience”, we understand how disability can affect the lives of those with disability but also their carers and loved ones. Insight into these lifelong and profound effects is crucial for a deeper and more authentic understanding of the disability journey and how this needs to be navigated differently for each person.

In employing people who not only have qualification but also lived experience, SDA Services seeks to increase disability awareness and create a foundation for best-practice experience and disability support. We want to remove the focus from a clinical approach to disability and instead, offer a more personal experience.

As part of SDA Services’ commitment to employing people with lived experience in disability, we recently caught up with our much-loved participant interviewer, mother/daughter duo Deb and Cindy. Deb and Cindy are also family and carers to Joey, who is living with disability.

Joey and His Sister, Cindy

Five years ago in 2019, Cindy, who had worked in an HR role (in a mental health organisation) for over a decade, found her world changed overnight when her beautiful brother Joey, (now 33), suffered a catastrophic brain injury at just 27 years of age. Joey, a fit and healthy young man, had 17 strokes, and initially, Joey’s family were told that his chances of survival were minimal whilst in a coma. But despite a diagnosis of a severe acquired brain injury resulting in a 99.9% functional cognitive disability, Joey managed to defy all odds and survive.

When the reality of Joey’s new life became apparent, Cindy, along with her mum Deb, began to see the missing link between participants and their families and the ability to access and understand information and what support was available.

A passion was ignited for disability support and advocacy for participants and their families, and Cindy was introduced to SDA Services Founder and Principal Consultant Greg Barry and the unique support that SDA Services offered NDIS participants. Cindy was engaged as a Participant interviewer and hasn’t looked back since.

Cindy’s new role led her to see how life-changing a positive SDA outcome was for people with disability, and she knew that an SDA housing solution for her own brother, Joey, was needed.

Deb initially came to SDA Services to back-fill Cindy’s maternity leave. Deb was the perfect candidate to replace Cindy as she had a Social Science background in psychology and years of health services experience. Like Cindy, Deb too very quickly felt right at home and simply fell in love with SDA Services as an organisation and place to work. As a passionate advocate for disability equality and a true “lived experience” example, Deb is able to utilise both her personal and professional skills to connect with people in a very authentic way. It was unsurprising that Deb was asked to continue her role even after Cindy returned from her leave.

Deb and Cindy are two of many examples of the SDA Services point of difference, with the diverse “lived experience” culture of the team. There is not one member of the SDA team who isn't either living with disability or touched by disability in some way.

The lived experience of the team at SDA Services means that they understand the highs and lows that families experience supporting a loved one with a disability and offer nothing but compassion and support. The SDA journey can be uncertain, long and arduous, but the SDA Services team works hard to get it right from the start to make sure they get the best outcome.

There is a known misconception that an SDA housing solution is only suited to people with physical impairments. This is far from true, as evidenced by Joey’s case. Whilst Joey’s brain injuries thankfully did not result in a substantial physical impairment, the cognitive impairment he sustained is permanent and quite significant. Joey has many challenges that are almost invisible but are also profound. In the five years since his brain injury, various options have been explored to ensure that Joey can have a positive housing experience. The SDA solution was imperative for Joey to enable him to live his best life.

SDA Services provided Joey with hope for his future. Joey’s positive SDA outcome has given him stability and security for his future. It also took a huge amount of pressure off Joey’s family. With a positive SDA outcome, Joey now has options and choices for where he wants to live and who he wants to live with. It fosters and supports the independent lifestyle Joey deserves.

Joey has worked incredibly hard to recover from his injuries and is passionate about sharing his story of strength and resilience in order to help others.

Joey and his Mum, Deb

These days, Joey enjoys any sort of physical activity, such as mountain climbing, walking, and swimming. He works out twice a day, is an active community advocate, and has just finished writing his first book titled “Protofeminist” which is based on his passion for the subject of Marilyn Monroe. He has spent his entire life researching and learning everything he can about this icon, even travelling to America for four weeks to continue his research. He hopes to have this published soon, so watch this space!

Joey is an active and widely recognised member of his community and was featured in the campaign by photographer Megan Gill “Portraits of Mankind”. In August 2024, Joey became a diversity model, giving him the capacity to work as both a freelance model and as a non-exclusive agency-signed model. This is a very exciting opportunity for Joey and his family.

SDA Services is proud to support Joey in his SDA journey. Through the work of dedicated employees such as Deb and Cindy, we will continue to offer participants like Joey hope for their future with a positive SDA outcome and the opportunity to live their best and most independent lives.