There's No Place Like Home And A Little Help Goes A Long Way

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday September 23, 2008

Margot Date

A community service helps those with disabilities to lead independent lives. Margot Date reports.

DOING the weekly shopping can be a chore but for people with mobility problems it can be the difference between living at home or going into care.

For more than 25 years, St George Community Services in Sydney's south has helped frail aged people and younger people with disabilities to remain in their homes.

The organisation is governed by a board of management drawn from the community and is funded by the NSW and Federal governments. Centre manager Chris Spackman has used the expertise of Pathways Australia to help define what type of help can be provided with the available funds.

"There is not a lot of good management training about and we were wanting to do a performance-and-development plan for employees," she says.

A clear plan has now replaced the centre's cumbersome strategic plan. "It is much more achievable. We are not trying to save the world with little resources," Spackman says. "We concentrate on what we are funded to do to provide the best-quality services."

There is a centralised client-management system ensuring people receive efficient help. "Because they are already on the system, they don't need to go through a referral," Spackman says.

She says that sometimes older people are reluctant to ask for help but home modification and maintenance are matter of safety.

Low-level repairs up to $7000 are provided, with clients paying for materials and labour (at a subsidised rate). This can mean that simple things such as handrails and ramps can be added, or a shower hob removed.

"It just makes such a difference," Spackman says. "They just feel that bit safer."

One popular service is the supply of frozen meals. These are for people unable to cook for themselves, either temporarily or permanently. The meals are delivered fortnightly and the centre provided 25,271 meals last year.

There are monthly social outings for people who are isolated and a Chinese-specific run provides Mandarin-speaking staff.

The shopping service picks people up from home and takes them by minibus to the shops. On their return, volunteers can help carry their shopping inside. Last year, 261 people used this service. A smaller number of people had help to set up home-shopping accounts.

Spackman says that there are more than 30 staff from a range of language groups, including Greek, Egyptian, Spanish and Hindi, and that there are more than 100 volunteers.

"The services are there to help you stay in your home," she says.

One long-term member of the Stroke Support Group is Win Poulter. She was 61 when she had a stroke in 1989.

"The first thing they said was I would never be able to walk again," Poulter says.

"Then they said, 'You may be able to talk again'. That didn't really matter to me because I was determined to do all those things."

With the help of her sister and her husband, Ron, Poulter soon found her independence. She joined the area's stroke-support group in 1990. It meets regularly at the Mortdale RSL club, with about 40 to 50 people attending each meeting to hear talks and to exercise together.

Poulter has physiotherapy every fortnight but says it is useful to go every week to the support group as it keeps her active.

Without it, she is sure she would have deteriorated considerably. And she has also met some fellow card players.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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