WIDE ANGLE FILM FESTIVAL A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON DISABILITY

 

The Wide Angle Film Festival is coming to Fremantle this weekend and will be held at the Maritime Museum on Victoria Quay.

Screening on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October at the WA Maritime Museum, the WAFF presents a series of award–winning Australian and international short films reflecting the lived experience of people with disability.

The public program features animation, live action, drama, comedy and documentary films, while the children’s program includes productions from preschoolers, primary school students and collaborations between children under 12 and professional filmmakers.

Saturday’s program will be screened with audio description, while Sunday’s program will have open captions. Sensory screening kits or kits for people with anxiety and post–traumatic stress disorder are available on request.

The Wide Angle Film Festival plays an important role in raising awareness about the need for cinema access for people with disability.

All of the films are fully accessible for people who are deaf or hearing impaired, blind or vision impaired and for people with epilepsy, autism and other sensory disabilities. It’s not just the accessible inclusions which make this Festival so special; the stories told in the films reflect the diversity of our community and bring honest perspectives of people with disability to the wider public.

The children’s program is screening at 10–11am, followed by the public program at 11.30am–12.30pm, on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October in the WA Maritime Museum’s Australia II Gallery. All screenings are free of charge, however bookings are recommended.

Roel Loopers

ARE WE REALLY OK?

 

 

It is R U OK? day today and like every day of the year we need to be asking that question.

There are so very many people in Australia with mental health problems, with depression and anxiety, and suicide far too often seems to be the only solution for those in despair.

As someone who suffered from depression for a very long time, now thankfully years ago, I know the struggle, the feeling of being abandoned by the world and the black hole that seems to be getting deeper and darker as there appears to be no future.

It is so very important to turn to friends of family and tell them how you feel, without being judged or pitied, and it is very important that we all ask ourselves and those around us R U OK?

Life can be an enormous struggle sometimes, and no one should feel ashamed when they are down in the doldrums, not even when it is self-inflicted. There is always hope and there is so much beauty in our world and so many very good people!

Be honest with yourself and don’t pretend to be happy, because acknowledging the problem is the very first important step to recovery and healing.

Roel Loopers

ABORIGINAL GAMES AT FREMANTLE OVAL

 

 

 

 

Two hundred year 5-9 students from ten schools came to Fremantle Oval today for the Culture through Sport event organised by the Stephen Michael Foundation, where they played traditional Aboriginal games most of us Wadjelas have not heard about.

Footy legend Barry Gable and former Dockers player Michael Johnson were in attendance.

The students participated in Meetcha Boma, a hockey game played by Noongar people of the south of WA, where a Meetcha-red gum-was used as a ball and a piece of wood with a crooked root as the hockey stick.

Marn-Grook, or game of ball, was played by Aboriginal groups in Victoria. The ball is kicked high into the air and players try to catch it, similar to a mark in the AFL.

Noongar Wana was played by girls where a small stick was put on the ground and one girl tried to defend the stick while other girls outside a circle around her tried to hit it with a ball.

Edar, a game of chasing and tagging, comes from the Aurukun Aboriginal community.

The kids had a lot of fun.

Roel Loopers

DISCOUNT FOR FREMANTLE LEISURE CENTRE

 

 

The City of Fremantle has a special offer for Fremantle Leisure Centre new members. Purchase a 12-month membership before 8 September and receive a 20% discount, plus they’ll waive the $45 joining fee. Conditions apply. Find out more: call 9432 9999

Roel Loopers

A FACIAL IS VERY PERSONAL IN FREMANTLE ; >)

 

 

It must be such a relief for those who like facials that they don’t get someone else’s facial but a personalised one. ; >)

I noticed this sign in Fremantle’s High Street.

Roel Loopers

MORE SOLAR FOR FREMANTLE

 

Solar panels being installed at sporting facilities around Fremantle are set to save local sporting clubs thousands of dollars on their power bills.

The panels are being installed at Gilbert Fraser Reserve in North Fremantle, Ken Allen Field in Beaconsfield and Stevens Reserve and Frank Gibson Reserve in Fremantle.

The project is being funded through a $20,500 federal government grant from Sport Australia and $12,000 from the City of Fremantle.

The clubhouse at Gilbert Fraser Reserve, which is home to the North Fremantle Amateur Football Club, Fremantle Mosman Park Cricket Club and Fremantle Masters Football Club, has had a 20 kilowatt solar system installed which will provide annual savings of almost $6000.

Ken Allen Field, home to the Fremantle City Football Club and Fremantle Roosters Rugby League Club, will get a 13 kilowatt system with annual savings of $4500.

A new 13 kilowatt system at Frank Gibson Park will deliver $4800 in savings to the Fremantle Netball Association, while the Fremantle District Cricket Club and Fremantle Hockey Club will save $3600 thanks to the 10 kilowatt system installed at Stevens Reserve.

 

This is positive news but in today’s West Australian columnist Paul Murray writes that former Greens member of Fremantle Adele Carles claims that the environmental impact of the proposed South Fremantle solar farm has not been properly investigated.

Fremantle Council and Mayor Brad Pettitt promised the community from the very start that the solar farm would only be approved if all environmental impacts on the community and health had been assessed, so if Adele Carles is correct more tests and checks need to be done before the solar farm can go ahead.

Roel Loopers

DYING WITH DIGNITY IS RESPECT FOR HUMANITY

 

 

The voluntary assisted dying legislation proposed for Western Australia is very important and something I strongly support.

The legislation would allow for people with a terminal illness to be in control and die with dignity and the respect we all deserve.

My oldest sister Marja was euthanised in the Netherlands only a few months ago after an unwinnable battle with cancer of the vagina. It was a very thorough process where she was assessed by different professionals. It took quite some time until her request was approved and she died peacefully at home. I talked to her on Skype till the last moment when the doctor arrived. She felt empowered that she was able to make the decision herself and that the option was available to her.

My father who had suffered from bowel cancer for years was also euthanised some twenty years ago.

Palliative care is important but people need to realise and respect that not everyone wants to prolong their life and the some of us, me included, prefer to leave when we are still in control and not totally dependent on others, who are often strangers.

Doctor assisted dying is so more dignified than having to kill oneself with pills, hanging, jumping in front of a train or truck, slashing one’s wrists, etc. and that regularly happens in our society. Committing suicide is a very stressful, awful and lonely moment where one feels totally abandoned by the world, so assisted dying is a very important choice for us to have

Those who believe in God are not threatened by the new proposed legislation as no one will be forced to euthanise and no medical professional has to assist if they do not wish to do so, but for those of us who have had enough and want the struggle and pain to end doctor assisted dying is a humane option and we should be allowed to have that.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE HELP FOR THE HOMELESS

 

 

A partnership between state and local government, the private sector and community service providers to address rough sleeping in Fremantle was announced today.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt joined Community Services Minister and Member for Fremantle Simone McGurk, Sirona Capital Managing Director Matthew McNeilly and other key stakeholders in Fremantle today to launch the 20 Lives 20 Homes campaign.

20 Lives 20 Homes is two-year initiative which will provide housing and wrap-around support to some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Fremantle.

It is based on the 50 Lives 50 Homes collective impact project, which has successfully housed more than 147 rough sleepers in Perth over the past three years.

The program will be coordinated by Ruah Community Services in conjunction with St Patrick’s Community Support Centre, Fremantle Foundation and the City of Fremantle.

Sirona’s Matthew McNeilly has driven private sector support for the program, raising almost $1 million from a small number of individuals with strong Fremantle connections.

The state government is contributing a further $395,000 over two years, while the City of Fremantle has committed $40,000 this year with a further $40,000 proposed for next year.

Mayor Brad Pettitt said the program was an important step towards addressing homelessness in Fremantle. “This commitment to solve rough sleeping, rather than just manage it, is potentially a game changer on an issue that has sadly become more prevalent in many communities.

“I look forward to seeing some of the most vulnerable people in Fremantle being given a home and the support they need to get their lives back together.”

Mr McNeilly said the plight of homeless people in Fremantle hit home when the Kings Square Renewal project was about to commence.

“At the point Sirona was about to turn Kings Square into a construction site, I realised the redevelopment would displace a significant number of people who were using the doorways and vacant shops of the old Myer and Queensgate buildings for shelter,” Mr McNeilly said.

“I didn’t want anyone to be negatively impacted by the redevelopment, particularly the people sleeping rough.

“I remember overhearing a local business owner’s disparaging comment about a homeless person, saying that someone should do something about these people. The reality is it takes multiple ‘someones’, hence this initiative.”

Ruah Community Services Chief Executive Debra Zanella said 20 Lives 20 Homes would deliver a person-centred approach that links people to accommodation and support services that can address personal circumstances.

“We are privileged to be invited to deliver this targeted program to Fremantle, in partnership with St Patrick’s Community Support Centre, the state government, the City and the private sector,” Ms Zanella said.

“We believe the success of the 50 Lives 50 Homes program is proof that ending rough sleeping in WA is achievable, as we work toward tackling the much broader and complex issue of homelessness.”

Member for Fremantle Simone McGurk said the state government was proud to support a program that would make a difference for people sleeping rough in Fremantle.

“The 20 Lives 20 Homes program takes a housing-first approach and will help people experiencing homelessness get a roof over their head, which is an important first step, but it will also connect them with the support services that can get them out of homelessness permanently,” Ms McGurk said.

CONTAMINATED SWEETS LEFT IN FREO MAIL BOXES

Warning to all parents in the East Street and High Street area of Fremantle that contaminated sweets and mini chocolate bars have been left in residential letter boxes, so keep and eye out that your children not accidentally consume them!

Roel Loopers

$ 2.24 MILLION UPGRADE FOR FREMANTLE NETBALL

 

WA Premier Mark McGowan and Sport&Recreation Minister Mick Murray opened the new pavilion of the Fremantle Netball Association at Frank Gibdon Park on Sunday, just in time for the club’s 60th anniversary.

The $2.24 million upgrade includes a pavilion and change rooms, a first aid room, toilets and umpires’ rooms, and a canteen, kitchen and admin rooms.

The State paid $ 1.8 million toward the project while the club made up for the balance of it.

Roel Loopers