Meet Jordan Threlfo – a happy, caring and respectful young man with an infectious smile and personality.
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He is also one of Cessnock’s most savvy business men, with his ‘Jordy Can Do Errands for You’ enterprise going from strength to strength in the past 12 months.
Last week Jordy celebrated his 20th birthday surrounded by friends and family and fellow members of the Cessnock business community obviously grateful for all of his hard work.
Jordy’s business has been designed as a time saver service for clients in the Cessnock CBD, with everything from paper shredding to picking up lunch orders on the jobs list. And he is not only the only go-getter in the family.
Jordy’s 16-year-old sister Jessika is currently attending Mount View High school and also has big dreams for her future.
One day, she wants to own her very own pink car and she has already started saving her money to make sure this dream one day becomes a reality.
With the rollout of the Australian Governm-ents National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) - DisabilityCare Australia – already well underway, the future of people living with disabilities like Jordy and Jessika are now looking brighter than ever.
From July 1, the first stage of the scheme commenced for people living in the Newcastle LGA.
From July 2016, DisabilityCare Aust-ralia will progressively roll out in New South Wales and by July 2018, all eligible residents will be covered.
So while the Threlfo family might have to wait a little while longer to reap the benefits, Jordy and Jessika’s mother Dee said it is definitely an exciting time.
“It is just a whole new concept,” she said.
“I am a person who has always tried to look outside the box and if they get it right, they will be educating the community and hopefully getting the community to look outside the box as well.”
Dee said that the implementation of Jordy’s errand business last year was a dream come true for both her and her son.
She also hopes that when Jessika finishes school, she too will be able to follow her dreams and passions whatever they may be.
“As a parent of two children with a disability, we have our lives and our dreams just like any other family,” she said.
“We have our ups and downs just like anyone else, but first and foremost Jordy is a person.
“If he can contribute some way to society – give back in some way – than why shouldn’t he be able to.”
DisabilityCare Aust-ralia is a whole new way of providing community linking and individualised support for people with permanent and significant disability, their families and carers.
It will also work in close partnership with local communities to improve inclusion and people with disability.
Dee said that the scheme will offer a lot more security and freedom of choice for her family and said it is definitely a step in the right direction.
“I am a fulltime mum and a full time carer and when you are dealing with multiple disabilities it can be quite challenging,” she said.
“This [NDIS] is an entire shift away from what everyone is used to.
“We are excited about it and knowing the struggles that we have already been through, it is going to offer so much more.
“For me it is all about having a goal and it is nice for the kids to be able to set those goals and knowing as a parent that they will be able to achieve them.
“Society is definitely changing and if they can change the structure of the funding it will definitely get easier for people.”
For more information on DisabilityCare Aus-tralia, visit http://www.-disabilitycareaustra-lia.gov.au/ or call 1800 800 110.
To find out more about ‘Jordy Can Do Errands for You’, email jordycando@bigpond.com or ‘like’ his Facebook page here.