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What a big month it has been in Disability! We started off with news in early May that the Victorian Government signed up for implementation of the National Disability Insur-ance Scheme (to be known as Disability Care). Then we had the budget announcement from the Victorian Government a few days later that it will allocate over $224 million in new funding for disability services in the State Budget. Then the Federal Budget deliv-ered a long-term plan to fund DisabilityCare, with Bills to increase the Medicare Levy by 0.5% and secure these funds solely for DisabilityCare, being passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Leader of the Opposition has also given a commit-ment for any future Coalition Government to deliver the scheme. On 9 May I attended a luncheon at Parliament House with other CEO’s from services around the State to meet with Minister Mary Wooldridge, who provided further infor-mation on the State Budget announcements. Key announcements were as follows:

$107 million for 720 new Individual Support Packages (these will be distributed out-side of Barwon region)

$62 million earmarked to help meet the increasingly complex needs of people with disability living in Government -run supported accommodation;

$7.9 million for new community based housing as part of the closure of Sandhurst Residential Services in Bendigo;

$4 million for the aids and equipment program;

$26 million towards pay equity for about 13,000 disability workers as part of the Fair Work Australia decision; and

$17 million towards the launch of the NDIS in the Barwon region. These announcements bring Victoria closer to the State disability funding levels in the lead up to the implementation of DisabilityCare in 2019/20 which will see $5.1 billion per year allocated in Victoria ($2.5 billion State and $2.6 billion Commonwealth). With such a lot of new information available I plan to hold another information session in the coming weeks about DisabilityCare for participants, families and staff. There is still much detail about the scheme to be informed by the trials that are occurring in pilot sites, but I will be able to provide you with an update given recent announcements.

On another note I wanted to say a big thank -you to Shayne for the great job he did while I was on leave and also to the small team who worked hard in preparation for our HACC Audit.

Cheers Ann-Maree

Address: 1-13 Cecil Street, Bendigo VIC 3550 Phone: (03) 54 412 666 email: admin@amicus.org.au web: www.amicus.org

Dates to Remember

7th June—No Service due to staff Training

10th June—Public Holiday

13th June— Growing Communities together bet-ter—Final workshop

18th June—Family Leadership Series —Tony McLean

5th July—End of Term

8th—12 July—Holidays

15th July—Beginning of Term 3

10th August—25th Anniversary Celebrations Gala Evening - Foundry Hotel

From the EO—Ann-Maree Davis

Issue 5 June 2013

June 2013

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Inside this issue From the CEO . . .............................. ................ 1 Dates to Remember . . .............................. ...... 1 Community News and Events . . ................... 2 25th Anniversary celebrations . . ....... 2 Bendigo Access Map details . . ............ 2 Biggest Morning Tea . . ......................... 3 Amicus News Farewell to Denise . . ............................ 4 Thankyou to our Volunteers . . ........... 4 Coordinators Reports . . ....................... 5 HACC . . .............................. ..................... 6 Look What’s Happening—Arts . . ... 7&8 Have a Say News . . .............................. .. 9 YMCA After School and Vacation care

. . .............................. ............................... 9 Community Volunteering . . ........................ 10 Community Garden Group . . ............. 10 Workshop Opportunity . . ........................... 11 Our Sponsors ................................ ............... 11

Plans are coming along well!

See flyer insert for preliminary de-tails about the Gala event to be held

on Saturday 10th August.

Watch this space for details of other

events planned for the our 25th anni-versary celebrations in September,

October and November.

Please contact Ann-Maree Davis or

Caralyn Collins on 5441 2666 if you would like to help plan the anni-

Amicus 25th Anniversary Celebrations

BENDIGO ACCESS MAP APP BLINE Getting Around Bendigo Access Map This map can also be printed from: www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/maps For further enquiries about the Bendigo Access Map contact Toni Grace on (03) 54346458

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Thankyou to all those involved in our biggest morning tea in some way. Whether you were helping with the organising, hanging the exhi

bition, playing in the band or enjoying a cuppa and some of Ann-Maree’s lemonade scones ( for which we have provided the recipe below) - your

contribution helped us raise $480.00 for the cancer council.

The exhibition will be running

until the end of June.

For viewing or the purchase of works please contact Susan.

COMMUNITY NEWS AND EVENTS

3 cups SR Flour

1 cup cream

1 cup lemonade (can use diet lemonade)

Mix all ingredients together until just combined (will be slightly sticky). Turn onto a floured surface and knead very slightly then press out to an 20 -25mm even thickness and cut with a scone cutter. Place on a greased baking tray and brush with milk. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 200c for 10-12 minutes or until golden and cooked. Cooking time will vary based on the size of your scone cutter, smaller scones cook quicker etc.

Serve with jam and cream. Enjoy!

Lemonade Scones

Biggest Morning Tea and Art Exhibition

Nigel Carroll and Paul Har-

rington on the drums

Rod and the Boys

June 2013

June 2013

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Farewell to Denise

Sadly this month we farewell Denise, who has worked in an office administration role for just over 12 months. Denise has some increased carer responsibil-ities for ageing relatives so has made the difficult de-cision to leave us. Denise’s last day was Friday 24 May and we said thanks and farewell at our Biggest Morning Tea. Susan will be working full -time to as-sist us in reception while we undertake recruit-ment. Lee-Ellen is also joining us in reception as a volunteer, 2 half days per week to support the further development of her administration skills and experi-ence in preparation for job seeking. Please join us in welcoming her to the role.

While speaking of volunteers, May 13 -19 was National Volunteer week and gave us the opportunity to celebrate the essential contribution that volunteers make on a daily basis to community services like Amicus. The theme this year was “Thanks A Million” and I wrote to each of our volunteers to thank them for their support and assistance. I would also invite you to say a big thank -you if you get the chance. We also now have many participants who are volunteering in our community and making a difference too … so a big thank -you to you all as well!

Ann-Maree

National Volunteer week

‘T hank s A M illion’

to our Volunteers

Denise Martin

Amicus News

June 2013

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Over the p a st m on th Am i-cus have supported a num-ber of people to enjoy a holiday break. A group of six participants spent three days at Cape Patter-son (and including Phillip Is), and two participants

chose to go on individual trips, spending a weekend in Echuca and an overnight stay in Ballarat. Amicus is also supporting one participant to pursue her vocational goals. We welcome Lee-Ellen’s as an assistant to the Amicus admin team, working in reception two half days per week We have also been receiving a number of requests for additional services from both existing and new participants. As a result, Amicus will be commencing an additional Art group for new participants to attend as well as assist-ing people with individual supports. Also a ‘Good Luck’ wish to 3 of our staff with their up and coming month long place-

ments with other organisations as part of their Diploma studies. This is a great oppor-tunity for staff to develop new skills and

have exposure to different ideas and we look forward to them sharing their knowledge on

their return to Amicus.

Shayne Scott Disability Service Co-Ordinator

Amicus News Co-Ordinators Reports

Shayne Scott

Amicus will be

closed for service

on the 7th of June

for Staff Training .

Service will resume on the 11th June .

SERVICE CLOSURE

Lee-Ellen is now assisting in reception

at Amicus on Monday mornings and

Wednesday afternoons

Lee-Ellen Kirchoffer

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HACC Planned activity groups have been busy as usual. Since our last re-

port, Kyneton residents have been to Malms-bury, Riddells Creek and Maldon. Karinya residents from Lancefield enjoyed a yummy Chinese lunch at the New Garden Chinese restaurant in Kyneton and BBQs at Riddells Creek, Taradale and Gisborne. Maryborough residents spent a day at Woop Woop (near Harcourt). On another occasion a group of 7 residents from Princes Park Lodge enjoyed a lovely counter meal and a drive in the country. Homebush residents have been on drives in-cluding afternoon tea at Heathcote, Castle-maine, Elmore and Maldon and BBQs at Daylesford, Wedderburn and Kyneton. While we were at Kyneton we called in to Kyneton Lodge and the residents from the two SRSs were able to socialise while we enjoyed an after-noon tea of party pies and cake. During Art and Craft sessions, Gay and Sherly produced some great craft using crepe paper.

A group of 7 men including 2 residents from Kyneton Lodge and 2 from Karinya, another of our HACC clients Jason Thomsen and 2 other Bendigo men have been participating in a program run by Haven. The program which ran over 8 weeks involved setting up a band. The men had never met each other before let alone play together. At the end of the program the band known as the Mixe d Nuts pla yed to a la rge a udience of family a nd friends at the Newmarket Hotel. The program was a great success and Haven have been able to obtain funding to continue the program for another 10 weeks. Elaine Crowle

HACC

John and Charlie playing a

maze game at Woop Woop

Kelvin and Dot

June 2013

Amicus News

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June 2013

What’s Happening in. . .

ART

Matt Considine

Patricia Tripcony

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June 2013

Amicus participants working on individual pieces of art, made from recycled objects found at the Eaglehawk recycling yard. We will be hav-ing an exhibition in the coming months. Melissa Curry Support Worker

Sarah Clayton

Andrew Seamons

Peter Brewer

What’s Happening in...

ART

June 2013

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This month the Have a Say Group

took a trip to Echuca. We visited the new library

and assessed any issues that a person with a disa-

bility might face. Overall it was a very positive ex-

perience apart from the ipad catalogue at the end of

the rows being too small for visually impaired. A big

plus was the large selection of large print books.

We also met with Emma and a group of TAFE stu-

dents to discuss advocacy and the achievements of

the Have a Say Group.

Ann Maree met with us to tell us about her meeting

with Minister Mary Wooldridge and the exciting

news for future disability funding for Victoria.

Next month we are hoping to attend a forum at

SARU in Melbourne about transport, as this is can

be a big issue for some people with a disability.

Have a Say

YMCA After School Care and Vacation Care Program

Amicus News

The children and staff who par-ticipated in the latest Vacation Program had a wonderful time. There were trips to the Mel-bourne Museum, the swimming pools, cinemas and more. There was much fun to be had on scav-enger hunts, playing sports and games, in cooking programs and just general enjoyment playing with other children. A huge thanks to all the staff who did a wonderful job supporting the children while they had so much fun.

Tracey Christmas

Co-Ordinator

Zeathen and Joe getting into some mischief!

Louis enjoying a cooking

program

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Community Garden Group On Thursday mornings, Jude, Norm, Gary and Joel have been working hard at the Long Gully Commu-nity Garden to grow their own vegetables. To date they have: Prepared the vegie patch Added manure and organic mulch

Planted a range of vegetables - on-ions, chives, carrots, spinach, bok choy, cabbages, cauliflowers, beetroot and silverbeet. The vegies are looking magnificent and we look forward to harvesting them soon. The plant seedlings were purchased from Graham O’Neill , at All Stone Quarries Nursery. Graham is a former amicus par-ticipant who completed a horticultural apprenticeship and is now employed full time. A great success story and an indica-tion of the opportunities available. The group have also advised and assisted

Dylan with creating his own vegie patch .

Kate Walder

Support Worker

Community Volunteering

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Joel Whitting, Norm Beams,

Gary Thompson

June 2013

Gary Thompson

Thanks to Our Major Sponsors

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Reminder: The last of the Free Training Workshop for Parents and Carers in Bendigo and

surrounding communities will be running on: Thursday June 13th - Workshop 3 Building Community Connections:

By working together with others and building purposeful relationships so:

• you have the chance to re-think roles in relation to community … from ‘recipient’ to ‘contributor’

• you develop strategies to facilitate an enriched community life for the person you are supporting

• you feel equipped to assist the person for whom you are caring to realise their choices

Register on- line to book your place in the series (link)

https://www.etouches.com/gsc-bendigo or telephone

Rural Access, City of Greater Bendigo ( 03) 5434 6386 or field 9982 0101

If you are unable to attend the series of workshops, you can register your interest in a partic-

ular workshop and those places will be offered subject to availability.

Email your interest to field@field.org.au The Capital - Bendigo’s Performing Arts Centre

50 View St Bendigo VIC 3550

The workshops have been developed in collaboration between the

City of Greater Bendigo Rural Access and field, and will be delivered by field’s experienced trainer team.

Growing stronger

communities together

June 2013

LMR Family Leadership Series 2012-13 –Tony McLean

“Building Micro Businesses”

This free workshop will provide families with the opportunity to hear real life stories about people with a disability who have chosen to develop their strengths passions and interests into a business. There will be the opportunity during the workshop to start to think about possibilities for your own family member with a disability and also provide some practical steps for progressing these ideas.

Tony McLean has worked with disabled people and their families, the formal

service system and local communities for over twenty years. His current role in

ImagineBetter as Manager of Community Development focuses on supporting

disabled individuals to become real and valued members of their local

neighbourhoods and communities.

Tony is interested in social justice and the community’s capacity to include all

citizens in the regular rhythms of life. Investment with disabled people and their

families that explores the uncovering of peoples inherent gifts, strengths and

capacities has been a catalyst for many to go on to create innovative roles which

generate fiscal return as well as rich and reciprocating relationships. One of these areas has developed into

a number of individuals creating their own successful micro-business enterprises.

Tony has worked with disabled people in many voluntary and paid roles over the years including direct

hands on support; service provision; management; Needs Assessment and Service Coordination; Supported

Employment; Evaluation; Supervision and Service Design and training.

Tuesday 18 June 2013– Echuca – Murray Human Services, 461 High St - 9:00am to 11:30am

o Video conferencing to Mildura, Christie Central Board Room, 115 Twelfth St

Tuesday 18 June 2013 – Bendigo – Amicus Training Room 1-13 Cecil St - 1:00pm to 3:30pm

Wednesday 19 June 2013- Kyneton –Windarring Training Room, Baynton St - 9:30am to 12 noon

Background Carer Support Services has provided funding for this innovative project which offers an exciting opportunity for families of people with a disability across the Loddon Mallee Region to participate in a range of workshops focussed on the development of skills to support their leadership and visioning of individualised support arrangements. Tony is the sixth guest speaker in the series. Target Group Families from across the LMR and their supporters, who are interested in leading the development of individualised support arrangements or exploring new opportunities on behalf of their family member with a disability. We hope that you can join us for this exciting opportunity! If you have any enquiries about the Family Leadership Series please email Ann-Maree Davis, Executive Officer, Amicus adavis@amicus.org.au Carer Support Services are keen to support your attendance if you need some assistance with respite to enable you to attend an event please call Carer Support Services on 1800 068 978.

Family Leadership Series – Tony McLean June 2013

I wish to register for the following session: Echuca – Tuesday 18 June – MHS Training Room, 461 High St

9am to 11:30am Mildura – Tuesday 18 June - video conferencing from Echuca –– Christie Central, 115 Twelfth St

9am to 11:30am Bendigo – Tuesday 18 June – Amicus Training Room, 1-13 Cecil St

1pm to 3:30pm Kyneton – Wednesday 19 June – Windarring, Baynton St, Kyneton

9:30am to 12noon Registration Details Full Name: ………….…….…………………………………………..………………………. Contact Phone:………….…………………………………Mobile:………………………….……….. Email:………………………….…...……………………………………….………….………. Please tick any of the following that apply and provide information as requested

Do you require any specific assistance or aids?

Please specify:……………………………………………………………………..………….…………….

Morning or afternoon tea will be provided - do you have any special dietary

requirements? Please specify:……………………………………………………………………..…….………………….

Please RSVP by Friday 14 June 2013 to: Ann-Maree Davis PO Box 20 Eaglehawk 3556 email to: adavis@amicus.org.au or fax to: 03 5444 4340 Attention: Ann-Maree Davis