Manager's Letter
23 June 2010
It was a year ago today that I joined the team as the executive manager of Lou’s Place. I was full of hopes and dreams for the year ahead and it gives me great pleasure to look back on the positive moves forward we have made as a service to the community.
Thanks to the support of the ANZ Staff Foundation and the City of Sydney, we launched the New Directions – Skills for Life program in May 2010. There are three components of the program including:
Creative Expression activities – creative writing, sewing, art, music, jewellery, collage and sculpture
Practical Living skills – yoga, cooking & nutrition, massage, hairdressing and external presentations by professionals and other services on health, legal matters, finance, setting up a home, personal presentation, etc.
Personal Development – a closed Women’s Group facilitated by counsellor, Lorraine Fraser Walsh and case manager, Kathryn Clark on Wednesday afternoons and two hour open groups held by our case managers with a focus on interpersonal communication, empathy, compassion, conflict management on Friday afternoons
Click here to view our weekly schedule
We have only three full time paid staff including myself and our two case managers. With the assistance of our supervising psychologist, Trudy Adelstein, we designed and implemented an in-house training program for our volunteers in April 2010. The three-hour training program is conducted in the art studio of Lou’s Place and we have received terrific feedback from all of the participants. Regardless of whether our staff is paid or unpaid, we are all valued members of Team Lou’s. Without the tireless support of almost 60 volunteers, we just could not open our doors each day.
Click here to learn more about volunteer training
Our service has traditionally been very responsive to crisis management, counselling and referrals. We advocate on our clients’ behalf with government and non-government services to ensure that they are heard and are treated with respect. In the second quarter of 2009, we introduced long term case management, assisting our clients to identify their goals, set priorities and develop long term case plans to help them reach their goals of employment, personal development, health and finance.
To assist our case managers in working more effectively and efficiently with our clients (and reduce paper wastage in hard copy files), we collaborated with Richard and Jeremy of PeopleInsite www.peopleinsite.com.au at the end of last year on the development and implementation of an online software platform specific to the needs of our service. Our case management system allows us to conduct intake interviews with clients anywhere in the service, prompting the case manager to gather the information required to best assist the individual. Soft copies of all documents including support letters, ID (and personal documents if requested by the client) can be stored in each client’s file. We developed a Quality of Life (QOL) assessment tool to help the individual identify their QOL upon entry into the service, identifying the areas that we can provide help with. This survey tool can then be used to track the individual’s progress on a quarterly basis. In August 2009, we moved our daily and weekly KPI data collection online, tracking client volume and attendance. With the assistance of our online systems, we can now also provide generic service reports on trends in homelessness, substance abuse and mental health.
Whilst we work very closely with our clients on improving their overall quality of life, we acknowledge that it is often a slow process. Sometimes it is enough to accept that we have helped a client to maintain their current situation without things getting worse. Clients may either take baby steps towards their goals or take dramatic leaps and bounds forward only to slip backwards. We like to think of ourselves as helping our clients onto the tightrope of their future – they may slip off but we provide a safety net to catch them and help them right back up again.
One of our long term clients commented the other day that this is the longest period that she has ever spent out of jail. She suffered chronic abuse and neglect as a young child. Her mother was shot dead whilst holding her as a four year old girl on the Golden Mile. After being passed from one foster family to another she has spent a significant part of her life in jail with the balance living rough on the streets. With the support of Lou’s Place, she is claiming back her life. She has stopped taking illicit drugs and continues to participate in the methadone program. She is eating properly and is now a healthy weight. She has participated in public speaking opportunities, talking to kids about the reality of sleeping rough and the dangers of drug use. She has had a cleaning job and is looking for further employment. She is in the process of moving into her very own house with a backyard. This is her first home.
On behalf of all at Lou’s Place, I thank you for your interest and your support of our women.
Best regards
Deborah Banks
