This week on Let’s Talk…Social Justice, Kevin continues his investigation into the housing crisis in so-called Australia, and its specific implications for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In this episode, he chats with Debbie Lee from the First People’s Disability Network, a national organisation of and for Australia’s First Peoples with disability, their families and communities.
FPDN is an organisation that is governed by First Peoples with lived experience of disability. It grew out of the organising efforts of advocates as early as the 1980s, working to bring attention to the specific needs of First Peoples with disabilities and their families.
In this episode, Kevin and Debbie talk through some of the ways that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis. They talk about the lack of appropriate housing for people with disabilities, and the long waiting lists for social housing and housing modifications for people with disabilities.
Deb and Kevin reflect on why it’s critical that movements for housing justice centre disability justice as a framing principle in all organising efforts.