MOST Aboriginal people who are disabled are not aware that help is just around the corner.
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That's the sad reality according to Disability Information Group chairman Rob Riley.
Mr Riley said the organisation decided to showcase the range of services it offered at a public awareness day targeted at Aboriginal people with disability.
Dubbo residents were busy gathering information from 16 different services behind the Cyril Flood Rotunda on Macquarie Street yesterday.
"We want to find out from the elders and disability clients what gaps exist in service to cover them," he said.
"It's all about making local decisions based on local needs."
The aim of the National Disability Awareness Day was to keep the community informed about the help available to them without "double-dipping" on resources.
"Someone could come and say, 'I want a wheelchair', and one service group may come and say 'we do a lot of wheelchairs'," he said.
"It is good networking for organisations to know what they do and to better work together."
Mr Riley said the greatest challenge faced by disabled people was not having the resources to access information about available services.
Part of National Disability Awareness Day was spent recording stories of Aboriginal elders on how they managed to grow up with a disability.
"This will hopefully inspire others to be strong," he said.
Dubbo resident Natalie Ebsworth was walking along Macquarie Street when she saw the stalls and decided to see what was happening.
She said she came to find out more information about public transport because she did not drive and had a disability.
"It's great having all the providers in the one place, you can get all the information at the one time," she said.
"I believe this is important for Aboriginal people because they're not aware of what help is available to them."