Chris’ journey to independence
License? Obtained. Relationship course? Completed. Trip to China? Planned and pending. Chris is ticking off some major goals for himself since moving to his new home after the SIL Strengthening project identified that Chris wasn’t thriving at his previous home in regional NSW.
Luke Greene, Site Manager at Chris’ new home, said Chris is achieving important goals and embracing his new lease on life.
“Before he moved, Chris would have his outings with his support worker, but more or less kept to himself,” Luke revealed.
“One of the goals for moving homes was about finding Chris better housemate compatibility.”
Now, Chris is full of energy and enthusiasm. He plans outings and invites his housemates to join him on day trips. He has become very active, participating in activities like karate, tennis, and exercise at home. He even motivates others in the house to exercise, and they are getting fitter together.
Living in the city has opened new opportunities for Chris to connect with his Chinese heritage and culture. He recently visited Burwood’s Chinatown, where he could speak with people in his own language and shop at an authentic Asian grocer. Chris loves cooking Chinese meals and always shares them with his housemates. Trying new foods has been an exciting experience for everyone.
Chris’ quest for independence has seen significant victories, including regaining his driver’s license with fewer restrictions than ever before. He has also completed a relationships course, which has given him more confidence and skills to dip into the dating pool and hopefully find love.
There is also an overseas adventure on the horizon. Chris’ team is helping him plan an exciting holiday to Shanghai to visit his mother.
“Chris has come leaps and bounds since being here – he wants the world,’ said Luke.
“I want him to do as much as he wants to do. I’ve never said no to his requests – and I believe everything is obtainable for him.
“One day, I want him to be able to say, ‘See ya’ to us because he can look after himself and I believe he will get to that point – he’s so close now.”
Strengthening our Community and Home Living services
Our teams have been working tirelessly to support our clients to thrive in their homes.
An extensive review of our supported living homes explored whether our houses were meeting the emotional, physical, and social wellbeing of our clients.
This meant looking at accessibility, safety and modernity of our homes. In addition, we talked with clients about whether housemates and support staff were compatible, and whether our clients were in the right location to meet their health and social needs.
Off the back of these findings, we have conducted small and large-scale capital works to elevate our homes. We have also made some hard decisions to close homes that we knew would not be able to meet our high standards. We successfully engaged with our clients and teams to relocate them into homes that would meet the long-term goals of our clients.
As we closed the doors to some houses, we have been able to open newer, more efficient, and higher quality homes for our people. This included opening two new homes in Hornsby that are fully accessible, equipped with smart technologies, and a mix of high physical and robust builds. We are excited to open two homes of a similar calibre in late 2023.
At time of acquisition Disability Services Australia, the Supported Independent Living (SIL) vacancy rate in NSW was 26 per cent. Today, it is 10 per cent. Achieving this marked turnaround is a testament to the extraordinary work of our teams, and never losing sight of client needs.
Growing our Employment Solutions business
There has also been a flurry of positive growth within the employment arm of the business.
Within packaging solutions, our volume of work is now back to pre-COVID levels, with much of our airline work returning. We have also diversified our packaging service lines, launching a micro herbs operation called Farm Fresh which is set to really ramp up in the coming 12 months.
Within METS, our Registered Training Organisation, we were proud to be recognised as the winner of the NSW Training Awards 2022 in the category of Industry Collaboration for our LearnAbility collaboration. LearnAbility was established between METS, DSA and our partner, The William Inglis Hotel, who gave METS and DSA an opportunity to implement on-the-job training and provided our clients with job opportunities at the hotel.
Our contract with the William Ingliss Hotel has now been extended for five years.
Within SLES, we have brought ‘Skillsthread’ into our service offering – giving our school leavers the opportunity to work on a not-for-profit initiative. Our SLES students work sorting unwanted fabrics to keep them out of landfill and give them new life.
SLES is now also working on a national integrated employment offering. Our NSW team has made tremendous strides towards bettering our client offering, and the future is looking bright for our teams with more exciting initiatives on the horizon.
New South Wales on track
When Scope acquired Disability Services Australia at the end of 2021, we were met with some challenging financial obstacles.
The hard work and proactivity of our teams is leading to swift progress on our financial turnaround.
At the heart of our financial recovery has been our focus on improving the experience and outcomes for our clients. This means we are working tirelessly to ensure our clients are accessing industry-leading services, which in turn is assuring their loyalty and longevity with us.
