NDS Living in the West 2010

1. Never -ending ^ ThePerson Centred Journey NDS Living in the West 2010

2. Overview • About Lifestyle Solutions • About answers to the question • About Mel • About Wayne

3. Lifestyle Solutions • Established in 2002 • Services and support • What guides and supports us

4. The question! • For person centred approaches to be genuinely embraced and realised in the lives of the people we support, what needs to be considered, preserved, challenged and changed within the organisation and amongst its staff?

5. What have we considered?Guiding Principles and Vision • Innovative • Creative • Responsive • Person Centred • Never Give Up Our Vision: Supporting People in Creating Lifestyle Solutions

6. Supports and Structures • The Person Centred Think Tank • LSOCS • National Leadership Team • Positions • News across the organisation • Conversation and cultivating attitudes -innovation

7. PCTT We will ensure the Vision, Mission and Values Statements, underpinned by the five core principles upon which Lifestyle Solutions was founded are considered, enacted, felt, modelled, seen and heard in our actions, efforts, support, systems, language, our progress, the way in which we meet challenge and celebrate success, all the way on our person centred journey

8. Supports and Structures • The Person Centred Think Tank • LSOCS • National Leadership Team • Positions • News across the organisation • Conversation and cultivating attitudes -innovation

9. Person Centred Think Tank ‘Our Purpose’

10. The Person Centred Think Tank ‘What Success Looks Like’

11. What’s important to preserve? • Relationships • Strategic Plan • Pursuit of opportunity • Integrity • People and plans • Success stories • Resources and champions

12. What we’ve challenged... • ‘Just because it is...doesn’t mean it should be’ • The genuine definition of partnership • Traditional funding streams • Existing mind sets, how flexible are we? • Systems and roles • The notion of what’s really possible –never giving up

13. What has changed.... • Practicalities (finance, admin, recruitment, communication) • Processes and Policies • Thinking and delivery • How we interpret ‘service’ • How we speak, what we say • Responsiveness and accountability

14. A bit about me..... Independently me determined I’m “normal” I enjoy life Happy social social

15. Self Governance Self-Governance means: I have more control over my own life. I have rightful responsibility for myself and I create opportunities for a variety of life experiences. I set (and mostly) achieve personal goals. By controlling my own plans and support I enhance my capacity to participate in my community in a flexible, typical, Mel kind of way.

16. What does Self Governance mean for me? Self-Governed Support looks different for everyone who uses it. THAT’S THE WHOLE IDEA! but basically it allows ME to develop a support team that gets to know ME and can help work WITH ME towards DOING WHAT I WANT TO DO. I am in charge of the goals that I believe will help me to participate to my full potential in my community

17. A snapshot of my week... Working up a sweat! I like to swim I volunteer for the Red Cross “Tenant-Connect” program

18. As well as...... • ‘Disability Awareness’ presentations and talks • I’m a very social 23-year-old who likes to attend parties, have dinner with friends, shop, travel and just generally enjoy things that any other people my age like doing!

20. Self Governed Support • The framework enables me to live the life I have created and wish to pursue for myself • Is self -directed in nature • facilitates and helps me put into action the dreams, hopes and aspirations I have for myself • takes on the values and attitudes that I grew up with, that my family taught me

21. Building my Team • Profiling –getting ideas on paper • Advertising • Interview processes • Next step

22. Advantages • My pace! Less time-pressure: can negotiate support hours • Workers don’t need to be identified as ‘carers’ • Flexibility, stability and retention of my staff • Increased freedom • Getting to participate actively • If you can foster open, transparent and honest relationships with workers, you will have better communication between all parties

23. Keys to successful self governed supports • Partnership • Roles and Responsibilities • Matching support • Problem solving • (Healthy) Relationships

24. Potential Pitfalls ... • You and your family/supporters/network need to be ready to be in charge of what you want to do because no-one will tell you what you should be doing. This is why I like Self-Governed Support so much, but you need to be prepared to take it on. • It is your responsibility to take on some ‘management’ roles (e.g. Diarising, paperwork, record keeping, planning). This is something that we all do for ourselves, it’s just a little more formalised. • People are people-and people can change

25. A comparison(What my experience has told me) TRADITIONAL (Centre-based) • Recruitment ...Decision made by service management team. • Planning.... Can sometimes focus on limited areas such as education OR social and can be difficult to combine the two. • Workers.... Have to wear a uniform, this means they must be identified as a personal support worker in the community rather than a peer or companion or friend. Harder to maintain continuity • Structure .... Support is often delivered within certain hours decided by the service. NOW (Self-Managed) • Recruitment.... Write ads, interview, select, induct/train • Planning.... Own day and activities without needing to run it past a service manager for consultation. The only people involved in the planning are the participant and the worker and anybody else that the participant asks to be involved. Planning is real. • Workers.... Flexibility, friendly, professionalism, is able to feel comfortable in environments that the participant chooses to be a part of, share common interests. • Structure... Self-governed support is structured by individual needing support and negotiated with worker.

26. Make a change So don’t be scared to step out and make a change, because you never know where it may lead you. It certainly has been a positive change for me. ‘Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.’ W. Clement Stone

27. Wayne’s story