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25 Years Attendance
Frank Faba
20 Years Attendance
Mary Bretherton
Phillip Falsone
Tracey Ford
20 Years Service
Eveline Hoctor
15 Years Attendance
Robert Pingel
10 Years Attendance
Andrew Elkhawand
Sam Garcia
Benney Jamou
Louise Mallon
Nhan Nguyen
The dedication, enthusiasm and commitment of staff and volunteers have been critical in enabling the organisation to further develop meaningful links with the local community. BDS has ended the year with a slight operating deficit of approximately $6,000. The Finance sub committee continues to monitor and evaluate budgets and manage investments. There has been a strong focus on the development of systems and administrative processes that provide for greater financial management and accountability across the organisation. The development of our organisation delegation document has resulted from this review as we move towards quality endorsement in 2012. There is a stringent approach to resource management providing greater capacity to build on the infrastructure in the organisation. In the last year we have completed a range of refurbishment and renovations throughout the building, the purchase of plant and equipment and the upgrade and replacement of the vehicles. We have been very successful in our partnerships and funding submissions for grants that support the development of our infrastructure. One cannot ignore the vast opportunities the organisation has gained from the continued development of our BEEEP project, supported by the recruitment of a Community Development Facilitator position. I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Phyllis Cremona who resigned from the Board in September due to ill-health. On behalf of the members of the Board, we wish her well and thank her sincerely for her unwavering devotion to our organisation. Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the Board of Broadmeadows Disability Services for their continued dedication and commitment. On behalf of the Board of Management, I would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the organisation, the people we support, families, carers, staff and volunteers for their dedication and passion. It is all of you who make our organisation a spirited community. As we review our current strategic goals and plan for the future, I would encourage you all to celebrate what we have achieved together.
Phyllis Cremona
Michael Grech
Rhonda Hunter
Sue Binger
Carmela Lombardo
Bruce McCurry
Ben Neil
Client Services
A busy and productive year from both an operational and program development perspective in Client Services has enabled the strengthening of front line operational capacity across all service delivery areas. Day Services including the Intensive Support Program, Individual Support Packages, RASP and the Escapade Program continue to challenge the organisation to respond creatively to the individual needs of the people we support and their families. A more consistent approach to workforce management, policy and practice, systems development and budget management across all program areas has assisted in enhancing the experiences of all people who engage with our organisation. Recruitment and retention of staff and opportunities for professional development continue to be key focus areas. Recruitment drives have been conducted quarterly resulting in engagement of a number of highly experienced, qualified and dedicated staff. Our focus on engaging staff that have a range of skills and expertise to offer and special areas of interest aims to expand the opportunities of learning for members. Artists, Beauticians, Chefs, Carpenters and Horticulturalists have complimented the range of programs and activities we can offer. This year staff participated in a range of training initiatives including First Aid Level 2, CPR Refresher and Manual Handling Fire Safety Equipment Training and Medication Administration. A number of staff attended the Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability (ASSID) Conference. Staff have also attended various workshops and in-service forums on topics to enhance service delivery skills including Quality and Outcome Standards, Community Gardens and Horticultural Therapy, Communication and Sensory Stimulation. Induction and orientation processes have been reviewed resulting in the development of streamlined processes across all program areas, including a focus on both the theoretical and practical aspects of the roles. The revised processes have proven to be not only more comprehensive but vastly more efficient in terms of their timing while improving the experiences of staff undertaking orientation and induction processes. Over the past twelve months there has been a strategic approach to evaluating and reviewing the operational capacity and financial viability across all program areas. This has included an operational review of the RASP and Escapade programs and a review of the Day Services program. Planning and implementation of these reviews has significantly informed the parameters for future planning and service development across the organisation. There has been a strong commitment and a keen focus on the continuous improvement and having the right supports and people, mechanisms and systems in place to be able to provide the quality of the service and outcomes expected by the people we support as always, this work will be progressive. We continue to focus on supporting staff to further develop their knowledge and understanding of the Quality Framework, the development of quality measures and alignment of supports and capturing achievement towards outcomes for individuals. The challenging work in the coming months is to expand our capacity to increase the knowledge and understanding of the Quality Framework and Individual Support Packages for people we support and their families which will enable them to actively assist the organisation to continue to grow and learn. We look forward to working with VALID as they support us in increasing our capacity and processes to work actively with the people we support and their families. This work is continuous and provides valuable information to
drive service development and review but most importantly, it informs all we do with the individuals we support.
RASP
RASP has been an active and consistent program this year with a continued focus on the provision of community recreational, social activities and pre vocational activities, all of which are community based. Programs have operated predominantly on weekdays with the inclusion of the popular monthly social dinner. Overall the 2009/2010 financial year we have provided a total of 8,656 hours of support to 35 individuals. Recreational activities such as evening dinner groups, Billiards and Bowling have been well attended in the last 12 months. RASP continues to offer pre-vocational opportunities to individuals who have
an expressed interest in this area. The Members from Darebin Lodge (Supported Accommodation Facility) have undertaken gardening and maintenance works for a range of customers in the Northern region. These gentleman are enthusiastic and committed to the work that they undertake and take great pride in seeing a job well done while forming strong social networks in the process. A key piece of work undertaken this year was the Strategic Operational Review of the RASP Program. The review was conducted with a focus on the analysis of the imminent retender of the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) contract. Pending the tender process, the information attained in the review will inform further discussion with the Board to determine the future of the RASP Program. This will be a key focus in planning for the coming year.
Day Services
It has been a very busy year in the Day Services, full of opportunities which have been truly driven and embraced by the individuals we support. The Members continue to be at the forefront of all that we do and achieve and continue to aspire to achieve. There has been a continued focus on quality improvement aligned with a strategic approach to the development of processes and systems for monitoring and reviewing the outcomes for individuals and their achievements and the supports which we provide. Mid year, a comprehensive review of the Day Services Programs and activity planning and resources allocated was undertaken. The main aim was to expand on the existing opportunities and redirect the focus to include a greater range of activities within a more equitable distribution of resources across the program. This was a key piece of work with a strong focus on getting the right supports for individuals and assuring that people were positively engaging in activities of their choice. New programs have provided fresh opportunities. Daily Programs have been restructured and operate all day, maximising the activity time significantly. There has been particular focus on the realignment of centre
based programs. Cooking and Art Programs now operate five days per week to accommodate the needs of people with varied skills and support needs, a range of Art and Craft Programs and a tuck shop once a week. There has been an increase in communication and computer programs aligned with literacy, lifelong learning and pre vocational skills development. These are hugely popular and individuals have shown real dedication to the active literacy learning groups. Music Programs also operate five days a week with a music therapist one day a week over 2 sessions, a musical performer another day and various Karaoke, disco and musical percussion sessions. There continues to be a huge interest in sports and recreational activities within the local community. Netball, footy and bowling are very popular with many of our members being active team players at local community venues. Swimming and Sailability has once again been very popular with individuals enjoying many a day sailing at Jack Roper Reserve and various venues including Albert Park Lake, supported by the dedicated commitment of volunteers and BDS staff. The development of the BEEEP project at BDS has offered a range of fantastic opportunities for individuals in the Day Services Program, many whom have truly embraced the opportunities, very proudly taking carriage of a range of gardening, nursery and horticulture activities at BDS. Through the development of the Horticulture Therapy Program some great opportunities have arisen for Members. Between December and January a total of 30 Members accessed a number of sensory gardens located within reasonable proximity to BDS. The objective of these visits were to gain greater incite into successful community gardens, providing Members with ideas that can be developed here at BDS. Members have been actively involved in the planning and initial development of the Access for All Abilities Garden which should be completed early next year. The Horticulture Therapy Program operates 2 days per week with individuals learning basic horticultural knowledge, engaged in plant propagation and planting. Gardening programs continue to be popular providing many and varied opportunities for members to develop their skills in gardening and horticulture. These activities have been running four days per week consisting of Garden Club (Learning based program) and Work Crew (Practical work component). This provides Members an opportunity to learn about items such as OH&S in Garden Club and then put learnt skills into practice during Work Crew. Currently approximately 22 members are actively participating in either or both of these groups once per week to develop skills in OH&S and better understand how to use the equipment. The edible garden is well established with many of the individuals taking great pride in their produce which is used in the cooking program regularly. Students from Broadmeadows Special Developmental School (BSDS) continue to be supported by their teachers and BDS Members onsite while participating in gardening and horticulture programs here at BDS. We are in the process of finalizing a partnership with Kangan Batman TAFE to offer a number of components of the Certificate 1 in Work Education course to our Members who have expressed a very keen interest in being involved. This will be a great opportunity that we look forward to in the coming year. The Intensive Support Program currently provides supports to 12 individuals who require intensive levels of support. The team comprises 11 core dedicated staff who work across the program with all individuals. Individuals enjoy predominantly a range of community based recreational and educational activities of their choice, art and cookery activities. In the interest of building their social networks and relations with peers, individuals enjoyed some great group outings including a
day out at the Geelong Water Park and a classic river cruise down the Yarra. Friday Night Social Group has once again been hugely popular. Members participated in a variety of sporting and musical events including Babba, Rock Legends, Cold Chisel, AC/DC and the Rock Goddess Show and evenings at AFL games. In July this year the Jeans for Genes annual fundraising event was held at BDS. This was a great event involving families and the local community. We had the honor of the event sponsored by our local Woolworths Hume Distribution Centre who made a significant contribution of foodstuffs for the morning tea. Staff from Woolworths attended the event. A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Woolworths. BDS raised and donated funds for the charity which supports research into childhood genetic disorders. The highlight of September was the Annual Churinga Bombers Vs Brimbank Bulldogs Football match. Tony Azzopardi was awarded a medal and voucher from Rebel Sports, for being Best on Ground. Tony was overwhelmed by his win which was duly honored and congratulated by all his team mates. Once again Members participated in The Great Race Victoria, organised by Greyhound Racing Victoria. It was an exciting event this year in that the greyhound sponsored by BDS won the first heat at the Meadows. The Members enjoyed the community spirit and being part of such a community event. Our performing drama group Dream on Productions have had another busy and energizing year. Mid year they enjoyed a weekend at the Dramarama Camp in Maryborough, participating in various drama workshops. The group forged a strong partnership with Carinya Society culminating in a duel performance at the Awakenings Festival in Horsham last year where they performed shipwrecked on a tropical island followed by big celebrations at the Awakenings Ball. The Member Reference Group continues to be an active and focused group, with active membership and representation on the Northern Client Network run by VALID. This has afforded individuals with some great opportunities for self expression and attendance at forums and workshops on various informative topics. 20 Members attended the Human Rights Forum held at the Hume Global Learning Centre in December 2009, an initiative of the Hume Council. In building and sustaining partnerships with our local community a number of VCAL students from the local Penola College participated in work experience placement at BDS. It was a great experience for both the students and our Members who worked in a range of activities alongside each other from Penola College participating in Work Experience here at BDS.
Geraldine Long
My name is Dwaine and this is my story. I have been at BDS for over a year and I have been working hard. Its really good for me. I am very happy at BDS. Before I came to BDS I was at Broadmeadows Special Development School. I used to go to the gym at Broadie and do weights. I worked hard there for years. I remember my first day at BDS. I got the bus to BDS. I was excited and a little bit nervous seeing all my mates from the old school. I like the things I do at BDS, like mowing the lawns, whipper snipping, doing clean up and gardening work. This is what I like to do. I work at BRITE the other 3 days a week. I like all my mates here, all the boys, I have lots of mates. I like going out with staff, I like coming to BDS and I have fun at BDS. Its a good laugh. I like working here with the men and the boys and I help other people out. In the future I would like to go to work at Dysons Bus Depot, maybe doing some bus cleaning. For now, I am happy at BDS.
Day Services:
Tracey Barr Matthew Bonetti Susie Bountris Michelle Burke Georgia Cabecas Bonnita Christoforou Kevin Clark Corinne Darby Theo Digal Mary Doherty Mary-ann Doria Katherine Fell Kevin Ferrari Dale Hanson Debbie Happell Wendy Harvey Claire Hetzel Eveline Hoctor Melanie Irving Amanda King Elaine Latham Daniel Maundrell Phillip McKenzie Brad Mendelson Laurie Page Frank Pardo Gayle Pardo Michael Perri Rebecca Poor Rebecca Pottenger Franca Pungitore Talinga Ranking Shane Ray Adrian Ritchie Melissa Robinson Ian Rowe Craig Schell Ronak Shah Shaveta Sharma Simon Silwamba Mary Skopelianos Desiree Smith-Pain Ondine Stachnowski Anne Stephen Rae Timbs Danna Townsend Wanda Waligora Suzanne Wightley
Bus Drivers:
Anne Brandt Jerry Le Maistre Lyn Rider Chris Michaelides Karen Millman John Timbs John Williams Jenny Oldenhuis
Administration:
Reception Administration Lauren Lowther Kim Keevers & Rebecca Kendall Finance Administrator Lyn Chapman Program Leader Escapade Julie Chakley Program Leader ISP & RASP Amanda Beecham Program Leader Day Services - Lisa-Jane Podesta Program Manager Day Services - Luke Doherty Community Development Ben Neil Program Development Manager - Simon McDowell Client Services Manager Geraldine Long Chief Executive Officer Barb van den Vlekkert