International Day of People with Disability
From the National Disability Insurance Scheme (“NDIS”) resident who would not leave their room, but now leaves to come out to socialise with other residents; to being able to support a NDIS resident to visit their elderly father - these are just a few of the touching stories, Lynne Slevin, Salvos Home Care NDIS Program Manager, shares as she reflects upon International Day of People with Disability. The United Nations (“UN”) observed day celebrated Day is recognised annually on 3 December to, “increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate their achievements and contributions.”*
Lynne first joined The Salvation Army Aged Care in 2019 and plays an important role in overseeing the NDIS Salvos Home Care Staff including NDIS Support Coordinators, Support Workers and Administration. “I work with the Support Coordinators to ensure that our NDIS residents are getting the services they need and manage the Support Workers that support our NDIS residents to engage and participate in social and community activities,” Lynne states. “She also works alongside the Care Quality and Compliance (“CQC”) team to ensure all protocols are adhered to.
The role of a Support Worker is diverse and varied too, with their role ultimately to meet the requests of their client. “A Support Worker supports the NDIS resident to actively engage in social and community activities,” Lynne explains. “It might be an outing to the movies or the beach, going to the gym, or having lunch at a centre with other residents. The majority of our support is one-on-one which means that our NDIS residents get quality time with the workers to engage in activities that interest them."
The rewarding nature of this work is not just evident for the Support Worker, but also for the client. “I think that for a lot of our clients, that’s something that they really enjoy; knowing that they’ve got a person there that will spend the time with them: thirty minutes to a couple of hours or take them out somewhere and do something that they enjoy, but still having that one-on-one attention. I guess that special person that is there just for them.”
Lynne thoroughly enjoys her work and is energised by the fact that her role allows her to connect with and support clients. “I love being able to provide a support that can be life changing for our NDIS residents,” she says. When we asked Lynne what this important day, International Day of People with Disability, meant for her, she responded with this heart-warming message: “To celebrate ability. Everyone has talents and skills and as a community, we need to support all people to find and nurture those talents.”
For more information on how to get involved as a Support Worker, please see the link below:
https://agedcare.salvos.org.au/join-our-team/
Source: https://www.idpwd.com.au/about/about-idpwd/
