Leadership and participation

After a tumultuous 18 months, looking to the future and recognising the small things that people with disabilities love to do can make a big impact.

In honour of this year’s theme, clients from across the Sunnyfield community have shared what they are most excited to do post-lockdown. It’s wonderful to see what they are looking forward to.

Check it out!

Honing Skills for Life during lockdown

Maintaining routine and good habits

Saturday night fever

Sea Breeze House residents bonded together over planning creative weekend events. On one Saturday, they boogied their lockdown blues away with an at-home disco. Deciding on a 60s theme, residents all helped decorate their home, dressed the part and played a series of games with prizes.

Why dine out, when you can dine in

Blue House residents Greg, Gavin and Jimmy used their lockdown time to practise and develop their cooking skills. They each took turns, learning to follow a recipe and cooking a complete meal for the other residents. Their favourite part was eating together and enjoying each other’s delicious concoctions.

The Olympic Games is always an exciting and memorable time

They are known for being the ultimate sporting competition for the world’s best athletes, bringing over 200 nations together to compete. But when you look past the literal meaning and observe the Olympic Spirit, it has a far more profound meaning. It’s a time when the world comes together to practise sport with the mutual understanding that it requires a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play – inspiring and motivating to free the world of discrimination. It incomparably unites us.

The power to inspire and unite

In the lead up to the recent 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, 10 of our Community Services Hubs banded together to bring the Olympic Spirit to Sunnyfield in the form of a ‘Sunnyfield Torch Relay’. Starting at Tamworth Hub, participants built a torch and sent it on tour around the Hubs in the New England, Tweed Heads and Hunter region, making its final journey to Allambie Heights Hub in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. When the torch reached each Hub, participants wrote an inspirational message on the flames for the next Hub to read and then took photos with it in their community, competing for the most creative photo.

“After the hard 12 months we have all been faced with, we wanted to share a bit of love and the ‘Olympic Spirit’. The main aim was for the guys to have fun, feel a part of something big – The Olympics – and be involved in planning the photos and, above all else, to have a good laugh” Margaret – Tamworth Hub Service Manager.

Expectations were certainly exceeded, with participants tracking the torches whereabouts each day and overcome with excitement when it arrived at their Hub. Another fantastic initiative developed by our Community Services team.

If you’d like to know more about Sunnyfield Community Services, contact our team today T 1300 588 688 or E enquiries@sunnyfield.org.au

New art program for people with disability

“Art is the expression of the profoundest thoughts in the simplest way.” Albert Einstein.

Art provides people with disability the opportunity to create something uniquely their own, which is empowering. Sunnyfield ran a Drawing Club for people with disability in Canberra to support clients to express and better communicate themselves.

The Drawing Club in action

Over six weeks, clients explored drawing using pencils and charcoal with local artist Genevieve Swifte. Each client worked on their own masterpiece. Throughout the program, clients opened up as they connected with their inspirations and discovered different art forms. One client, who started shy, had a breakthrough in week 3 when she made a still life drawing inspired by her love of cafes, coffee and scones with jam and cream.

Adapting activities to each participant’s needs

One client in the first class “expressed an interest in making jewellery. So in the next class, I showed her how to make beads from paper that can be drawn on, either before or after they’ve been rolled,” said Genevieve. “Something she can incorporate into the beading and jewellery making at home. She can create painstakingly delicate work and is deeply engaged.”

Images of participants’ works will be coming soon! Stay tuned.

Learn more about Community Services Programs

If you’d like to know more about our Community Programs, contact our Customer Services Team T 1300 588 688 or E enquiries@sunnyfield.org.au

“I want to be able to advocate for people with disabilities to be able to access the community safely, be treated fairly, and have the same freedom as anyone else”

Determination is a powerful thing. Combine it with passion and hard work and you get someone like Karen. For the past two and half years, Karen has been putting in the hard yards to complete her Certificate III in Community Services with TAFE NSW. Karen has been attending Sunnyfield Maitland Community Services hub for 4 years and thoroughly enjoyed being with others and offering assistance. That’s when she decided to take what she loves and turn it into something more meaningful through further education.

“It took me about 2.5 years to fully complete the course, as I had to suspend my course a couple of times due to health issues. However, during the COVID shutdown last year, I was able to get stuck in my study and after a lot of hard work, I managed to pass every subject in the course.”
Thanks to online learning at TAFE NSW and the assistance from Sunnyfield Support Workers and Karen’s other providers, she completed her course last month and passed all subjects with flying colours.

“The reason why I chose to do Certificate III in Community Services is because I have a passion for helping people and I want to be able to assist people with disabilities to be able to have access to the Community and be treated fairly. I also want to advocate for people who are unable to do so for themselves so that they can enjoy the same freedoms in life as everyone else. I am not sure how good I will be at advocating, as I am not really able to advocate for myself, but I am getting better at voicing my wants and needs. I just need to be with the right people who will listen to my opinions and assist and support me to achieve all the goals I wish to achieve. My main goal is to be able to get some volunteer work at a group organisation in an admin position where I can focus on organising outings and programs for people in day programs.
I am also in the process of starting my Certificate IV in Community Services and then hopefully Certificate III in Mental Health.”

The sky is the limit for Karen and we can’t wait to see where her new qualifications and skills take her.

If you’d like to know more about our Community Programs in the Hunter Region, contact our Customer Services Team T 1300 588 688 or E enquiries@sunnyfield.org.au

 “One day at a time but give me a push”

Diane joined Sunnyfield’s Community Access in the Hunter in January with the goal to get her mental and physical health back on track. Having issues with aching feet, Diane’s Support Worker, Valerie, assisted her with booking an appointment with a local Orthopaedic Specialist and finding correct and appropriate footwear to help alleviate any pain.

Diane now walks the beautiful Speers Point walking track daily with her Support Worker and is proud to have lost 18 kilos and counting. Her goal is to lose another 15-20kgs! To continue her journey to her goal, she has asked her Support Worker to attend aqua aerobics classes, which she started last week.

In addition, Diane has been implementing healthy meal choices at home. Assisted by her Support Worker, Valerie, they have been working on the Cooking and Meal Prep modules of Sunnyfield’s Skills for Life program.

The changes so far have had such a positive impact on Diane’s life. She is feeling more confident in herself and when talking to others. Her strive for health doesn’t stop there. Diane’s next goal is to quit smoking, which she has discussed with her Support Worker. Together they’re putting together a plan with appropriate supports to help her reach her goal.
Diane’s motto is “One day at a time but give me a push”. She is an inspiration to the whole team.

If you’d like to know more about our Community Programs in the Hunter Region, contact our Customer Services Team T 1300 588 688 or E enquiries@sunnyfield.org.au

Paula Hardwick has been named Central Coast Citizen of the Year in the 2021 Australia Day ceremony.

Paula is a casual Support Worker for Sunnyfield working across a number of Sunnyfield Shared Living homes on the Central Coast. During the Christmas period, clients were unable to visit Santa due to restrictions. Paula, along with a fellow Meals on Wheels Central Coast volunteer, took it upon themselves to hire a Santa and elf costume, borrow a convertible car and drive from house to house so Sunnyfield clients could have a personal visit from Santa. Both clients and staff all agreed that it was the most special Christmas yet.

In addition to the work she does with Sunnyfield, Paula has also volunteered for Meals on Wheels NSW for 32 years, works with Orange Sky Laundry to do the washing for homeless and disadvantaged people, and is a member of the Qantas Cabin Crew Team (QCCT) working on projects in Manila, Phillipines and Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2020, Paula raised $1000 to go towards a Christmas celebration for an orphanage in Manila.

When asked what she loves most about her volunteering projects, Paula said “It’s the giving of time and most importantly the receiving of a smile that is the reason I do this. Helping someone is a great gift and making someone’s day is amazing.”

Providing tailored support allows people with disability to participate more fully in their communities.

“Participants don’t just come to us and we decide what they want,” says Peter Dixon, general manager of Community Services at Sunnyfield. “Our job is to understand their needs and their [National Disability Insurance Scheme] goals, and then work in partnership to develop tailored supports for each participant.”

A not-for-profit charity and registered NDIS provider, Sunnyfield supports people with disability by creating choice, opportunities and skills for life. Sunnyfield recently launched a series of youth programs, designed to connect young people with disability to their community, develop social connections and build skills for life.

“We have participants from 2 years-old to 80,” Dixon explains. “The youth program is about recognising that 12 to 17-year-olds with disability have a lot in common with 12 to 17-year-olds in general. It’s a period of great personal growth, identity-forming, connection and self-understanding.”

The youth program provides younger clients the opportunity to socialise and be part of the community, by exploring their talents through a wide range of activities including music, dance, sport, art and school holiday programs.

“Kids want to hang out with other kids. There are many skills they can learn from being in their own cohort – it’s about supporting them to develop their own sense of self, their wellbeing, and to try different things.”

One example is the cooking program, which teaches participants how to follow a recipe. The aim is “not to make them cordon bleu chefs”, Dixon explains, but instead teach skills in following a process to achieve an outcome. They can then take that skill set into other aspects of their life.

“Just being able to have an opinion about food, rather than having it always served up to them as somebody else’s decision – that enables them to contribute. They can say, ‘You know what, I like pizza. Let’s make pizza.’ It supports independence, in thought and choice.”

Sunnyfield’s Skills for Life program is open to all age groups and focuses on social, communication and problem-solving skills, as well as budgeting, literacy and road safety.

Dixon notes that approximately 70 percent of participants who choose Sunnyfield as their support provider communicate non-verbally, with many preferring visual learning. Trained staff use assistive technology to cater to this learning style, thanks to innovative use of iPads and SMART Board activities.

“It’s a more defined program. As participants grow in terms of confidence and knowledge, they become more defined in what their specific goals will be. We can assist with understanding concepts such as numeracy and literacy.”

Founded in 1952, Sunnyfield has over 20 community hubs across NSW delivering nearly 2000 support services for people with disability every day. Underlining both the youth program and Skills for Life program is a philosophy that people with disability have the same rights as people without disability to participate in their communities.

“Inclusion is a key word in the disability space – and it’s not just about being able to catch the bus,’’ says Dixon. ‘‘It’s about being able to contribute. We provide support to enable participants to contribute, in the ways they would like to.”