The City of Sydney is supporting a pilot program to increase access to live music for people with disability. The Gig Buddies program pairs people with and without a learning disability to attend performance and live music events together. It has been developed by Assisted Community Living (ACL) a not-for-profit organisation that provides living needs support to those with learning disabilities.
Since October 2013, ACL has been working with the UK charity Stay Up Late, who put together the original program, to create the Gig Buddies Sydney program and establish the service within the Sydney metropolitan area. The purpose of the pilot is to demonstrate its viability, promote and generate interest in the service within disability and live music communities and refine rollout procedures and policies. ACL estimates the program will recruit 16 volunteer Gig Buddies paired with 16 service users, with the figures to be increased by 50 per cent at the conclusion of the pilot in October, 2015.
For more information email: ekelly@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au