AMICUS EXCHANGE AUTUMN 2018 QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION SIGN UP! HAVE THE NEW QUARTERLY AMICUS EXCHANGE DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX GO TO: amicus.org.au/newsletters IN THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT DATES MESSAGE FROM CEO NDIS PLAN REVIEWS Please familiarise yourself with our calendar of availability including days of upcoming service closure. p. 03 Welcome to our Amicus Exchange! Our newsletter is in a new quarterly format. p. 02 Everything you need to know about your upcoming NDIS plan review. p. 05 HAS GROUP CHRISTMAS The HAS Group Christmas event for 2017, (that we worked on for a few months) was a huge success! It took place at Lake Weeroona rowing club. We had a successful raffle and had many happy winners. The money raised from our fundraising efforts (delicious Bunnings sausage sizzle and raffle!) enabled us to provide a lovely catered lunch for all and at minimal cost to our participants. The HAS group worked on going out and raising awareness of selfadvocacy and requesting donations for the raffle. Many Bendigo businesses were very generous in donating. Too many to mention, but we have acknowledged those businesses with a 'Thank-you' certificate. A few participants seemed to enjoy getting involved on the day and did some short performances. The group is very grateful for their assistance, and all who attended the day seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. PAGE 1
MESSAGE FROM CEO A N N - M A R E E D A V I S Welcome to our very first newsletter for 2018, with a new look and the move to a quarterly publication! There have been quite a few changes since our December newsletter, with the Support Coordination and Corporate Services teams (and me!) making the move to our new office location at 90 Queen St. We will be holding an afternoon tea at 90 Queen St on Tuesday 20 March 2018 from 2pm-4pm. So please let us know if you would like to join us by contacting Mandy at reception on 5441 2666 (and if you have any dietary requirements) and come and join us for a cuppa. Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) we have welcomed many new participants and families to Amicus in 2018, we are looking forward to working with you to achieve the goals in your NDIS plan. We have been receiving lots of requests from participants in Castlemaine, Maryborough and even some in Daylesford. We have also seen many people we have previously supported receiving increased funding under the NDIS who have requested us to provide that additional support. The implementation of the NDIS has taken longer than the National Disability Insurance Agency expected with just over 60% of people in Loddon now transitioned. What this means for people who are choosing our support is that some of our participants are just working on the first NDIS plan while others are preparing for reviews of their first plans. You will find some useful tips on preparing for your review from our Support Coordination team. In Ballarat we have been working with Department of Health and Human Services in exploring options for some young people who are looking for alternative support options to assist them to move out of Out of Home Care or to prevent them from entering a residential placement. Things are progressing well in our redevelopment at Cecil St with underground works complete and road construction commencing this week. We expect titles for each of the blocks by end of May 2018 so not far away now! We have a few public holidays coming up so please make sure that you check out the calendar later in the newsletter and get the dates in your diary, and please let us know if any of your regular supports will vary during this time. Finally we have the opportunity for participants and families to be involved with the development of our next Strategic Plan and we have Louisa Coppel visiting us on 6 and 7 March to collect our thoughts and ideas. The session for participants will be held in the meeting room at 100 Queen St at 2pm on Tuesday 6 March and the session for families will be held Wednesday 7 March from 10:30am in the Board Room At 90 Queen St. Please call Mandy on 5441 2666 to register your interest in attending a session. For those of you who may be travelling over the Easter break, be safe and I look forward to sharing further updates with you in our next edition scheduled for May. Cheers! Ann-Maree A M I C U S E X C H A N G E P A G E 2
CORPORATE SERVICES The Corporate Services team is pleased to welcome Mary Heddell and Mandy Lindsay. Mary commenced with Amicus on the 1st February as our Human Resources Manager. Mandy commenced last week as our Receptionist. Angela Mutch will join us in the role of Individual Payments Officer in March 2018. This role will assist us in developing our invoicing systems to cope with the demands of the NDIS. We look forward to Angela commencing in this position. We farewell Linda Watson and Anne Ansell from our Administration team. We would like to thank Linda and Anne for their contribution to Amicus and wish them all the best for the future. Cathy Gaskell Corporate Services Manager GEELONG HAVE A SAY CONFERENCE F e b 5, 6 a n d 7 t h 2 0 1 8 Two participants, Shona Brown and Peter McDonald from the HAS Group, chose to attend the 'Have a Say' conference and also attended the dinner and dance on that night. The theme was 'Countries of the World'. Shona loved meeting another self-advocate with the same birth date as herself. In Shona s words, "that was AMAZING!" Shona Brown and Peter Macdonald said they enjoyed the whole experience and hope to go again next year. The group have expressed an interest in being a part of this year's Easter parade and are looking forward to being a part of this community event. It is also a great way to raise awareness of Self Advocacy within the community. Calendar March - May A M I C U S E X C H A N G E P A G E 3
SERVICE COORDINATION Where did 2017 go? It was very busy and seemed to go by very fast. 2018 promises to be as busy and I am looking forward to seeing where it takes us. Children's Services We provided 465 hours of respite in January primarily with YMCA Vacation Care. This continues to be a popular activity for children and for families. This allows children with a disability the same opportunities as other children to participate in activities in the community. This may be the only opportunity a child with a disability has to participate in activities with peers who don t have a disability. Amicus staff work alongside YMCA staff to ensure every child participates as fully as possible. Group Supports We are seeing a gradual decline in group activities. As more Participants are transitioning to the NDIS they are able to have more choice in the way they access supports. Some participants are choosing 1:1 supports and others have chosen to look at other organisations who still continue to offer group supports. Adult Services Already in the first 6 weeks of 2018 we have seen more growth in people contacting Amicus about supports. As NDIS is not yet fully transitioned in our area I expect to see this continue. January was an exciting month for 2 of our participants. We had staff support a participant to Queensland for a week s holiday. We also assisted another participant to fulfil a long time goal of visiting her mum in Tasmania. In the coming months we have 2 participant going to Port Arlington, 1 participant going to Melbourne and another participant in planning at the moment for her holiday. As more participant s transition and people start to see their plans implemented they are able to have a better idea of how to achieve their goals and how to access the services and supports they need to make this happen. Janet Gregory Service Coordinator NEW SKILLS Alex had his first session with Trials Experience at Macedon as you can see Alex had a great time and this was a good way for him to learn in a safe environment how to ride a motorbike. Alex is looking forward to his next session which he hopes he will get as a birthday present. A M I C U S E X C H A N G E P A G E 4
NDIS PLAN REVIEWS What is discussed at my plan review conversation? During your plan review, you will be able to provide feedback on what supports are working for you and how you are progressing in achieving your personal goals. You will also have the opportunity to explore and set new personal goals building on your previous achievements. Plan reviews also provide the opportunity to talk to your NDIS representative about when to have your next plan review dependent on your personal circumstances and goals. Plan reviews can be scheduled up to two years apart. If you know that your situation may change in the near future, such as your living arrangements or a planned move from school to work, your next plan review could be scheduled for up to 12 months time to make sure your supports best support your needs and goals. You will need to talk to your providers about your plan length to ensure your Service Agreements are up-to-date. How can I prepare for my plan review? You can work with your LAC, ECEI partner, Support Coordinator (if you have one), friend or family member to prepare for your plan review. Have a think about your goals in both the short and long-term. Knowing what you would like to work towards will help you to think about the supports and services you may need to achieve those goals and how you will use the funding in your plan to access the supports and services you need. It is important that your NDIS plan, and any funded supports, continue to work well for you. This means your plan is helping you to achieve your goals. Before you start your plan review, it can also be helpful for you to explore options to get involved in your local community through activities like sports clubs and community groups. This information is drawn from an NDIS Fact sheet on the NDIS website if you would like to find out more information SIGN UP FOR EMAIL NEWSLETTER Thank you for taking the time to read our new quarterly newsletter, the Amicus Exchange. If you would like to receive this newsletter straight to your email, please visit the link below on our website to sign up. amicus.org.au/newsletters A M I C U S E X C H A N G E P A G E 5