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<h3>Ria Strong</h3>
<p>G'day all... I'm Ria, from Melbourne, Australia. </p>
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<td align=center> <a href="../ria_strong/images/ria-anitra-2-big.jpg"><img src="../ria_strong/images/ria-anitra-2-sm.jpg" width=256 height=234 alt="Ria, Anitra and Zelda deMilo" align=abscenter" border=0></a><br>
<strong><font size=-1>Photo in front of Real Change</font></strong> </td>
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<p> My brother was "the writer" in our family. I was "the singer"-- when my talents
were recognised at all. I was abused far more often than I was praised.
<p> As a child, I escaped into music, into books-- or into corners of my mind.
As a teenager, I escaped physically. Life on the streets was safer than life
in my family home.
<p> I always planned to be a teacher, working with special needs children-- and
I made it to teachers' college, despite the odds. Then the unthinkable happened--
I had a second brain injury. I tried to continue my course-- but found myself
in a day program, drinking endless cups of bad coffee and wheezing on other
people's cigarette smoke.
<p> Then, serendipitously, a friend asked me to help out at a disability advocacy
organisation. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. In the last few years,
I've become a respected disability activist, consumer consultant and community
development worker.
<p> I've written on and off for many years-- mostly poetry, and mostly based on
my life experiences. I don't know how I found StreetWrites-- but I joined the
group's online workshop in 1999.
<p> In July-August 2000, I went to Seattle to attend one major international disability
conference and speak at a second one. The conferences were exciting (and a lot
of work!). Just as exciting, though, was the chance to meet people from StreetWrites.
<p> I hung out at the Real Change office, went to StreetWrites workshops in the
flesh and performed in <i>The Homeless One</i>with StreetWrites members. I did
artwork at the StreetLife Gallery, too-- and was bowled over by the quality
of some of the <b>other</b> work there. I also learned more about SHARE and
WHEEL. In Melbourne, we have many services for homeless and low-income people--
but nothing run by us, for us.
<p> In my work, I aim to empower people with disabilities-- supporting my peers
to find their own voices and take control of their lives. It's exciting to see
self-managed projects for homeless and low-income people-- projects that help
us find our voices and control our lives...
<ul>
<li><a href="../ria_strong/riapoems.html" target="_top">Ria's Poems</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li class="outdent"><a href="http://books.dreambook.com/anitra/streetwrites.html" target="_top">Guestbook</a></li>
<li class="outdent"><a href="../index.html" target="_top">StreetWrites
Archives</a></li>
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