Beyond the Divide podcast
Beyond the Divide is an initiative of Singleton Council’s Access and Inclusion program that aims to promote a sense of connection and belonging for everyone. Hosted by Council's Access and Inclusion Officer Harrison Kirkwood, the podcast shares local perspectives about life, access, disability, support and more in the Singleton community.
Follow the Beyond the Divide podcast on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Episode 1
In the very first episode of Beyond the Divide, host Harry Kirkwood sits down with Singleton Council Disaster Risk Reduction Officer Jess Whyte. Jess helps build community resilience in preparing for disasters. In this episode, she and Harry discuss the importance of preparedness, strategies to prepare ourselves and our homes, and highlight the additional factors pertaining to people with disabilities in emergency situations.
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Episode 2
Jo Tonon, a teacher or a MS support class at a Singleton primary school, shares her insights about her work and her own personal experiences as a parent with a child on the autism spectrum. Jo offers advice to new teachers, her younger self, and shares perspectives on the debate around supported vs mainstream education.
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Episode 3
Kristen Millar discusses the advantages of disability support work, and how being an advocate for people living with disability can be rewarding and enlightening. Kristen shares how being a parent and sibling of people with disability has shaped her life and encouraged her as a disability support worker through many fields.
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Episode 4
A youth worker in Singleton with a background in teaching, Mat Fox offers his life lessons in accepting and including people from all walks of life. With experience gained from his work and through his close relationship with his late brother who had Down Syndrome, Mat’s insights highlight the power behind respecting others.
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Episode 5
Aimee Parker works as a Community Connector at the local Neighbourhood Centre. Aimee reflects on the complex social issues her clients face and shares advice about including people from all walks of life, particularly disadvantaged and stereotyped youth.
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Episode 6
From doing everything she could to hide her disability to becoming an unstoppable force despite it – Eileen King’s story is not one to miss. Eileen shares memories of her working life and experiences from growing up in Sydney in WWII through to her tree change moving to Singleton later in life. Woven through the story is Eileen’s personal journey through vision loss and how this has moved from the background to the foreground of her life.
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Episode 7
In the final episode of season one of the Beyond the Divide podcast, Singleton resident Tony Ovington shares personal experiences about overcoming challenges following a traumatic workplace accident, and how his strengths enable him to support others and continue to thrive in many aspects of life in rural NSW.
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