Pride Disability Services (PDS) Pty Ltd offers tailored and specialised disability support services throughout Australia for all LGBTQI+ individuals living with a disability.

Pride Disability Services understands that ALL human beings have sexual needs and desires and that others struggle with their sexual and gender identities.

The services offered by the organisation allow participants to fully express who they are and be celebrated, connecting them with other like-minded individuals and support workers as well as the greater LGBTQI+ community as a whole throughout Australia.

The organisation is a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider which gives all Australians peace of mind if they, their child or loved one is born with or acquires a permanent and significant disability.

PDS employs several dedicated social mentors to help participants access the community and engage in social and recreational activities.

Many of these workers are also members of the LGBTQI+ community and will share participants’ interests and understand their social needs.

PDS’s philosophy is simple: They endeavour to pair every participant with a mentor who identifies in a similar way so participants end up with someone who shares in and understands your unique journey as well as give you all the support you would normally need as a person living with disability.

Pride Disability Services include:

Outreach: Community access and recreational services to support those who cannot easily access them.

In-home support: Personalised assistance around the home to improve overall quality of life.

Social groups: Allowing individuals with disabilities to socialise and engage with the greater LBGTQI+ community.

Support coordination: Respectful organisation of an individual’s support services to maximise their potential.

Specialist support coordination: Support coordination for individuals whose situations are more complex and require the attention of a more experienced practitioner.

Psychosocial recovery coach: Further organisation of support in cases where Mental Health plays a large factor.

As part of the COVID-19 strategy, PDS offers virtual support services with one-on-one support via Zoom, and also Virtual Social Groups which temporarily replaced face-to-face support delivered by the organisation’s Open Choices Program.

PDS’s social mentors come equipped to help participants around the house, help with grocery shopping, offer advice on how to manage bills and finances, help participants to appointments as well as help in in accessing any part of the community that participants want – whether it’s a sports club, the cinema, an art gallery or a trip down to your local café.

The way participants use their Outreach time is up to them. The group’s social mentors are there to help participants maintain their independence and make all of their own choices.

Sexual orientation and gender diversity have long been taboo subjects within the disability support sector.

There has long been the stigma that individuals living with disability are non-sexual beings and any expressions of sexuality by them have been treated as sexual deviancy.

Adam Sharpe is the director of Pride Disability Services and his story is one of love, dedication and determination.

He has worked in the disability sector for almost 25 years, the past almost-seven years in the LGBTQI+ community as a support worker.

He then met and fell in love with someone with cerebral palsy. Together they tackled and challenged society’s mindset over same sex relationships and together the determined couple overcame adversity, heartache and heartbreak to marry.

Choosing to have your NDIS services managed by Pride Disability Services comes at no extra cost to clients or their NDIS budget, so if you’re a LGBTQI+ individual living with disability the team would love to hear from you!