The Supporter is a quarterly magazine providing a collection of stories from across the AnglicareSA community.
SUPPORTER Spring 2019
YOUNG DOCTORS
CULTURAL EXCHANGE AT GRANGE
FRIENDLY BUSINESS
SUPPORTER SPRING 2019
Thank you for your continued interest in and support of the work of AnglicareSA. Sharing and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture across our South Australian community is essential in our journey towards reconciliation. While we actively try to do this throughout the year, our ‘Rec in the West’ event during National Reconciliation Week is always a terrific opportunity to bring communities together in celebration of history and culture. This year was no exception, with record numbers in attendance. Our partnership with the organisation Malpa through the Young Doctors program is a wonderful initiative designed by Aboriginal Elders, teaching young people to be health ambassadors in their communities. At Blakeview Primary School we’ve helped launch a new Aboriginal- focused Playgroup. Both of these projects involve Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and adults, increasing cultural understanding and acceptance. The annual Homelessness Conference in August afforded us the opportunity to share our experiences and knowledge and hear from others working across Australia and overseas to end homelessness. It is heartening to know there are so many passionate people collaborating on this important issue. Working together, we can make a difference. We work daily in support of people experiencing all sorts of vulnerability in their lives. This edition of Supporter provides a snapshot of some of that work, including the terrific people working in our Suicide Prevention
Program, our aged care staff helping a refugee to reclaim his identity, raising awareness of elder abuse, and encouraging and helping men to take better care of their health. Our work is broad and important. Encouraging people across our community to step up and join us in making our community more equitable and inclusive is key to our success. Congratulations to all of the businesses involved in our Child Friendly Business Awards. Your commitment is valued. Foster carers are special people who make the world of difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people. I encourage you to read Greg and Alex’s story on page three, and consider if you would like to become a foster carer too. Once again, we were heartened by your generous support of our Winter Appeal. With more than $150,000 raised for our emergency assistance services, we’ve been able to make winter more bearable for many more South Australians who have been doing it tough. Our Spring Appeal is focussed on supporting young people experiencing loss and grief. Our Star Bear camps have provided vital support to children and families as they learn to cope with their grief. It is the only program of its kind in South Australia and relies on the generosity of our donors.
Message from the CEO
Cover photo:
Lucy Lockwood, recipient of the inaugural AnglicareSA 150 Augustus Short Scholarship, with AnglicareSA CEO Peter Sandeman and AnglicareSA Patron and University of Adelaide Chancellor Kevin Scarce. See full article on page 4. Photo by Jo-Anna Robinson
Peter Sandeman Chief Executive Officer AnglicareSA
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Young doctors lead the way AnglicareSA’s partnership with Aboriginal organisation Malpa and Communities for Children (CfC) Playford co-funds the Young Doctors project that recently celebrated the graduation of another 108 students.
Designed and run by local Aboriginal Elders and respected community members, and supported by health workers, each Malpa project is driven by Aboriginal culture and adapted to the needs of each unique community. AnglicareSA continues to fund the Malpa project as it spreads to more schools across the metropolitan area. Congratulations to the latest round of graduates.
The Young Doctors project trains Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal school students, aged nine to 11, to be health ambassadors and positive role models within their communities. The 15-week program equips children with knowledge in nutrition, hygiene, environmental health, wellbeing and identity, health literacy and leadership. The ‘Young Doctors’ then spread their learnings to friends, family and the wider community.
“When we walked in my kids were so happy – they had a bed to sleep in and a backyard to play in,” she said. “Having a home provided the stability I needed to explore opportunities for my family – I have some job prospects on the horizon and couldn’t imagine how my life was before.” Evelyne secured long-term housing and went on to study for a Certificate 3 in Health Services and Certificate 3 in Individual Support. She hopes to secure work as a carer at an aged care facility. “Studying and training has given me the confidence to become someone I thought I never could,” she said. “Even my kids tell me things like ‘Mum, I’m so proud of you and what you’re doing.’” More than 75 per cent of Turning Point families have successfully gone on to secure long-term housing for themselves.
Turning lives around
Since 2016, AnglicareSA’s Turning Point program has provided crisis accommodation for families experiencing or fleeing domestic and family violence. The unique program provides safe housing for up to three months to homeless single parents and their young children in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. Each year, around 2,500 families seek support from AnglicareSA’s northern homelessness service.
Of these, almost 40 percent are fleeing domestic and family violence. Dealing with homelessness and a broken family, Evelyne came to AnglicareSA in crisis. She and her children were placed in a Turning Point home with support services to help them get their lives back on track. This allowed daily life to continue with greater self-sufficiency, security and normality for Evelyne and her family.
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Respite in the city
“To have this standard of respite care available for Scott means everything to us,” he said. “It’s one thing to have nice accommodation, but without people you trust to care for your child, it means nothing. “All the staff are dedicated, caring and concerned to support and care for Scott as we do. To know our son is receiving such a high level of care from people we know, like and trust means the world to us. “The stability, facilities and care offered by AnglicareSA are second to none.”
On September 3, Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Sandy Verschoor, officially opened AnglicareSA’s new Disability Short Stay Accommodation site on South Terrace in the city. This wonderful new facility provides a respite care service for clients of our Disability and Mental Health Services team, with accommodation for 10 adults at a time. It offers a high quality, short stay residence with tailored on- site support from AnglicareSA staff.
This well-located safe haven for residents provides peace of mind for families and carers thanks to careful design, appealing presentation, accessibility and built-in safety and security measures. Richard Bithell, whose adult son Scott will be a regular at the South Terrace accommodation, said he was delighted with the new city-based site and AnglicareSA’s high quality services.
Inaugural AnglicareSA scholar announced The AnglicareSA 150 Augustus Short Scholarship was recently awarded to Lucy Lockwood, an aspiring dentist from Mount Gambier.
Lucy’s dream of studying dentistry at the University of Adelaide seemed out of reach when her father took his life just over two years ago. As a single mother with three children, Lucy’s mum was unable to finance Lucy moving to Adelaide to study. Determined to find a way into the industry, Lucy began working as a dental assistant at a local clinic in Mount Gambier, and before long, took the opportunity to travel with a dentist to Timor-Leste to support local communities dealing with the lack of dental care available in the country. Lucy hopes to use her studies to provide dental services to people in remote Australian communities and developing countries.
It commemorates the 150th anniversary of Adelaide’s iconic St Peter’s Cathedral and the Right Reverend Dr Augustus Short. The University of Adelaide and AnglicareSA joint initiative financially supports a commencing student of high academic merit from a rural or remote area, who is experiencing financial hardship or other disadvantage.
What is the AnglicareSA 150 Augustus Short Scholarship?
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Moving towards reconciliation National Reconciliation Week
Tauondi Aboriginal College, Life Without Barriers and Uniting SA to host the annual ‘Rec in the West’ event. ‘Rec in the West’ brings the community together in an engaging environment and encourages people to celebrate
encourages us to come together and explore how we can all take part in the journey towards reconciliation. The theme this year was ‘Grounded in Truth: Walk Together with Courage’, that speaks to our need to talk truthfully about our shared history and heal wounds of the past. This is something that is not easy for many to do and which takes considerable courage, but is necessary if we are to move forward in the spirit of Makarrata*. During National Reconciliation Week, AnglicareSA once again joined with
* Makaratta is a complex Yolngu word describing a process of
conflict resolution, peacemaking and justice
Aboriginal history and culture through interactive activities such as dance, music, food and art. Events like this are an excellent opportunity to share Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with the local community.
It’s a friendly business The Child Friendly Business Awards are an AnglicareSA Communities for Children (CfC) Onkaparinga initiative. The awards recognise businesses in the City of Onkaparinga who support As part of the nomination process, community members comment on business’s child friendly practices:
This year 20 local businesses were recognised with an award. There are more than 100 CfC recognised child friendly businesses in the local area, so keep an eye out for the CfC ‘We Are Child Friendly’ signage identifying these businesses. Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved. CfC is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
“Makes a real effort to connect with all her customers and provides a family friendly service second to none” “A business that supports the community and especially all types of children’s sport” “The environment is welcoming and colourful and brings a sense of peace and safety to all who enter”
children and families by creating welcoming and respectful business environments. Each year families and children are invited to nominate their local child friendly business for an award – this year more than 80 nominations were received.
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Proud to call Australia home It has been 41 years since Tomas set foot in his home country of Sudan, but he’s hoping that’s all about to change.
Earlier this month, Tomas – or Tom as he’s known to friends – fulfilled a long-held dream when he became an Australian citizen at a celebration at AnglicareSA Brompton, an exceptional needs aged care facility. In the 1980s, Tom fled Sudanese civil conflict with his son to the Middle East. Twenty-five years later, as the war escalated in Iraq, he again fled, this time to Australia for a better life. To this day, Tom hasn’t had the opportunity to reunite with family in Sudan. Daniel, AnglicareSA Brompton lifestyle coordinator, said the citizenship and passport enables Tom to travel overseas, but that the main thing for him is the sense of identity and feeling whole again. “For the first time in years he feels a sense of belonging,” Daniel said. After arriving in Australia, Tom experienced a run of depression and health issues, and lost touch with his son and local community. In 2015, he came to AnglicareSA Brompton needing support
after losing everything in a fire – including vital personal belongings, documentation and identification. “When he came to us he wasn’t doing too well – he basically had nothing which made it tough when trying to access services for him,” Daniel said. “But he’s come a long way – he’s doing well now.” When talking about citizenship, Tom’s face lights up with a massive smile.
He’s proud to officially call Australia home and knows it wouldn’t have been possible without the support and compassion from Daniel and others around him. Tom is working hard to improve his health and save a bit of money so he can travel to South Sudan and rekindle long-lost relationships with family.
Protecting our elders
In June, AnglicareSA held events across its aged care sites on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The sites were a sea of purple with residents taking part in raising awareness for this global social issue impacting the health, wellbeing, independence and human rights of millions of older people around the world. Residents, staff and volunteers came together for morning teas, entertainment and fun activities. AnglicareSA currently supports nearly 5,000 customers across residential, community and allied health aged care services.
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With a styled mohawk and subtle swagger, Yitian Chen is not your stereotypical aged care volunteer. Cultural exchange for Grange
In 2016, Yitian (30) moved from Beijing to Adelaide to study social work at Flinders University and gain a better understanding of aged care in Australia. With ambitions to establish his very own aged care facility in China, a partnership between AnglicareSA and Flinders University enabled Yitian to complete a five-month student placement at the AnglicareSA Grange aged care facility. “I think you have to walk in other people’s shoes to understand what they need – so the placement is a great opportunity for students to become familiar with the environment and get lived experience looking after older people,” Yitian said.
“I think it’s a win-win situation… not only do I help them but they also teach me so much… about Australia, history and themselves.” After completing his placement, Yitian has balanced his final year study commitments with continuing as a volunteer at AnglicareSA. Yitian believes student placements and volunteer assignments are the ultimate opportunity for younger generations to engage with older people and learn more about what it means to care for one another. “Sometimes I think about how many older people dedicated their life to the development of Australia… so now it’s the time for the younger generations to give back.”
Aged care upgrades New care and support role
A recent Adelaide Anglican Diocesan appointment has seen Bishop Greg Thompson take up the role of Senior Chaplain. In this role, Bishop Greg will offer support and development to chaplains working in hospitals, as well as the AnglicareSA chaplains who work in residential aged care and employee support. We welcome Bishop Greg to this important new role.
The common living areas at AnglicareSA Elizabeth East recently underwent a beautiful upgrade. The project created a dining area double the size of the original, an upgraded servery, a dedicated resident library and lounge, and a lovely tea room for family members to enjoy.
A key objective of these improvements was to create an engaging dining experience to encourage residents to leave their rooms and use the communal spaces. It seems to have done the trick, with residents filling the dining room to capacity each day since it re-opened.
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Preventing homelessness
“It is not an act of charity to build a more equitable society in which housing is enjoyed by all – but an act of justice.”
DR JOHN FALZON
In August, the Don Dunstan Foundation held its annual Homelessness Conference. AnglicareSA is a proud sponsor of the event and a partner of the Adelaide Zero Project (AZP) that works to end street homelessness in Adelaide. AnglicareSA CEO Peter Sandeman is the co-Chair of the AZP. Bringing together many key voices in the space, the conference is an inspiring way to explore how the government, community and private sector can collaborate more effectively to prevent homelessness in SA. Peter Sandeman was an event MC and keynote speakers included Dr John Falzon, a Per Capita senior fellow and ex-national CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society. Dr Falzon said: “It is not an act of charity to build a more equitable society in
as homes allocated to people experiencing homelessness which meets their specific needs in terms of design, neighbourhood, and proximity to community services and supports.
which housing is enjoyed by all – but an act of justice.” AnglicareSA Housing Strategy and Project Manager Joe Capozza led a conference session on ‘aligned housing’. Aligned housing is defined
The service offers intensive support for three months and helps people and their families to identify and connect with community and social groups that can provide specialised support. Suicide prevention work. Now, I walk alongside people to help change their circumstances so they’re not at what we call ‘the edge of the waterfall’.” “It’s very rewarding because of my lived experience, and I want to continue to raise awareness about suicide and its stigma.” AnglicareSA Suicide Prevention Service (SPS) is a free program providing specialised support to people who’ve attempted suicide, or have strong suicidal ideation.
Janette, part of the AnglicareSA SPS team, has a combination of lived experience and professional education. “My passion for helping other families began when my mum took her life in 1991,” she said. “Once my children had grown up, I went to university to study social
This September Janette is walking 800km along Spain’s Camino De Santiago to raise money for AnglicareSA’s SPS program and we wish her the very best on her journey. If you’d like to donate to Janette’s fundraising effort, go to everydayhero.com.au and enter Janette into the search function.
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A sense of belonging
Culturally inclusive playgroup
The three-day camps, held throughout the year, provide adults experiencing mental health issues with the opportunity to engage and interact with others in a serene and relaxed setting. “It did me the world of good to be outdoors in nature, around other people, and be a part of a group – I felt like I belonged somewhere in this world,” Clarissa said. “Having the company of other people also helped me because it was a safe and supportive environment.” Clarissa said the camp was a unique opportunity to gain the confidence needed to create meaningful friendships. AnglicareSA Disability and Mental Health Services customer Clarissa found a “sense of belonging” after participating in one of AnglicareSA’s Mylor adventure camps.
commences In July, Blakeview Primary School officially launched its new Aboriginal Focused Playgroup.
“Creating social connections with people who understand, are non-judgemental and have lived experience of mental health issues is extremely important to me,” she said. “It helps me realise I’m not alone.” Clarissa enjoyed archery for the very first time, as well as bonfires, craft activities, movie nights and the “amazing food”. “Having one of the support workers braid my hair and paint my nails – that was really nice to be pampered.” For information about the AnglicareSA Adventure Camps at Mylor, please call 1800 953 001.
Connection and information =engagement
The AnglicareSA Playford Communities for Children (CfC) initiative supports Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and was created after a gap was identified in regards to the school readiness of new students. The program aims to create a friendly and culturally safe learning environment in which families are supported and positive interactions are encouraged. The goal is to build strong relationships between parent and child, and parent and school, and to build a strong sense of community. The focus of the culturally inclusive playgroup is to build a love of literacy and numeracy, both for the child and the caregiver. Activities include Jolly Phonics, storytelling, cooking, cultural activities, sandpit games, water play and painting.
Our Better Places Stronger Communities (BPSC) program
and skin cancer checks, blood pressure and sugar levels tests,
recently identified a need for greater engagement from our male tenants. As part of their improvement strategy they hosted a Men’s Health Week event. The event was very successful with many new faces attending. Health and wellbeing information was provided at the event, including bowel cancer screening, prostate
Men’s Shed information, TAFE study options, and a mental health program for those not eligible for the NDIS. The men enjoyed the day, gained a wealth of information and connected through a range of activities such as darts, pool and lawn bowls. The BPSC program continues to see increased positive engagement from tenants.
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Take the plunge
On any given night, 6,000 people across our state experience homelessness. They have no option but to sleep in their car, couch surf or even worse, sleep on the street. On Saturday 19 October this year, AnglicareSA will host the Adelaide City Plunge, an event in which participants abseil down the side of Adelaide’s tallest building, the Westpac building in the CBD. The funds raised from this event go towards our homelessness programs. Each of the 100 brave participants are raising $850, to enable AnglicareSA to continue to offer safe, stable accommodation and crisis services to people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. Pictured is AnglicareSA’s General Manager Housing and Homelessness Services, Michelle Gegenhuber, who
It’s not too late to get on board and support the cause
took the plunge in 2017 and has signed up to do it again next year. It’s not too late to get on board and support the cause. Simply jump online and donate to an AnglicareSA participant today at www.anglicaresa. com.au/adelaide-city-plunge.
Everyone is invited to come along on the day to witness the brave plungers. Abseils will run from 8.30am to 5.00pm, with food, entertainment and activities available.
Bringing hope
Do you have what it takes to be an AnglicareSA Hope Partner? Our Hope Partners are a special group of donors who commit to regular support throughout the year. During the 2018/19 financial year, Hope Partners contributed a huge $101,000 to our community-funded programs: Turning Point, Thread Together, Emergency Assistance and Star Bear. These regular donations enable us to better plan and grow our much-needed programs.
BENEF ITS OF BE ING A HOPE PARTNER
YOU’RE INVITED TO AN EXCLUSIVE HOPE PARTNER EVENT TO HEAR ABOUT THE IMPACT OF YOUR GENEROUS DONATION
YOU GET THE BENEFIT OF KNOWING YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING TO A GREAT CAUSE
NO NEED TO REMEMBER TO DONATE, YOU SET IT UP AS AN EASY AUTO PAYMENT
DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE BUT THERE’S NO NEED TO HUNT DOWN MULTIPLE RECEIPTS, YOU’LL BE PROVIDED WITH ONE ANNUAL RECEIPT
Become a Hope Partner today. Fill out and send in the tear-off slip or apply online at www.anglicaresa.com.au/donate “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed that’s all who ever have” – Margaret Mead
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The loss of a loved one, whether to a known terminal illness or an unexpected traumatic event, feels unbearable. The impact is huge and at times overwhelming. It is difficult enough for adults to deal with their own grief, let alone having to support children through the pain and confusion of the loss of a precious loved one. For nearly 20 years, AnglicareSA has offered grief support to children and young people through its Star Bear and Star Bound camps. Recently family camps have provided support to children and their families. Our Star Bear family camps create a safe space for grieving families to share their experiences and learn how to cope with grief. Helping families to heal
You can donate today by: • Completing the tear-off slip and returning it in the Reply Paid envelope provided • Calling 8305 9200 to make a donation over the phone • Visiting our website at www.anglicaresa.com.au/donate On behalf of the children and families that come to us in their time of grief
Parents are given the tools to support their children, and through the sharing and therapeutic activities, children develop skills to help understand and manage the emotions related to grief. Facilitated by trained grief counsellors supported by a team of amazing volunteers, Star Bear is the only program of its kind in South Australia. Your support will enable us to help to provide more family camps.
– thank you.
Jude and her children attended the first AnglicareSA Star Bear family camp in 2018 after suffering the gut-wrenching loss of their husband and father. Reflecting on her experience at camp, Jude said: “Star Bear camp was a series of moments. Moments with my kids, and moments with these other amazing parents who have been through very different experiences, all equally horrific. What I really hoped for, was my children to interact with children like them. I wanted them to meet other children who have lost a dad through death. I wanted them to feel “normal”. “What the three of us learnt at the Star Bear camp was... it’s the memories that matter.” We’ve been absolutely blown away by the support for our annual flagship fundraiser, the Cathedral Banquet , with all event tickets sold out. However , you can still go into the draw to win a brand new Toyota Corolla valued at $26,000 via the Cathedral Banquet raffle. With only 500 tickets available, the odds are great! Buy your $50 raffle ticket today at https://anglicaresa.com.au/product/raffle-tickets IT’S A SELL-OUT
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tha nk you
Sharing the warmth
A massive thank you to everyone who generously donated to help us share the warmth this winter. Our Winter Appeal raised more than $156,000 for emergency assistance services. With your support, AnglicareSA provides South Australians doing it tough with immediate crisis support such as short-term accommodation, hot meals, clothes, blankets and other basic essentials. Not only that, your support enables us to help these individuals and families secure long-term solutions to avoid being in crisis again. Thank you for the care and support you’ve shown to people in need in our community during a long cold winter.
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