It has been an extremely difficult start to the year as we watch across the country, from fires to floods and now a global pandemic.  It's hard to imagine all of this could occur over such a short period of time. I truly hope you are all doing ok during these extremely challenging and volatile times.

I have to say going to the supermarket and seeing that there has been limited to no food, has been quite distressing.  My mum and dad kept telling us to get some food and we probably should have listened; mum is always right my dad says!  What I have found most difficult to watch is the elderly and most vulnerable in our community who are at greater risk of getting sick are unable to access the essentials that they need.  Parents who can't get nappies or food they need for their children and those on low incomes who can't afford the luxury of purchasing in bulk.  In this time of uncertainty around our employment, social isolation, food insecurity and financial insecurity it is easy to see how our mental health and wellbeing will suffer if we don’t take care of ourselves, our loved ones and our community.

At the Foundation we have been feeling the pressure and as we commenced our fourth year at DDF we couldn’t have ever imagined what a rocky start to the year we would have.  This has been personally very hard for me, watching everything I have built come to a halt.  But these are uncertain times and so we have redesigned our plans to meet the current environment we now find ourselves in and to make sure we can continue to support our community the best way we can.

So please stay connected with us.  If you are feeling isolated reach out to us.  We are a small community but strong and at the Foundation we are here if you need us.  If you haven’t yet done so, join the DDF Facebook community.  It is a closed private group and it is where you will be kept up to date with all the work and activities we are doing.  You can be connected with others who are facing similar challenges but also who are sharing their many successes.

At the Foundation we will endeavour to continue our work.  We will be posting as often as possible and we will be launching a suite of webinars to help people stay engaged and connected.  If there are any topics you would like discussed, please let me know.  We will still be hosting our podcast series as well, so for us, as a small organisation that does a lot of work virtual, we will still be able to keep up with our work of advocating and supporting young people and adults with dyslexia.

Please reach out if needed that's what this community was created for. My thoughts are with you all.

Take care and with much love,

Shae