The Housing
Connection Limited
ABN: 77 144 980 898
Annual Report
2014/2015
Innovative Disability Services
Funded by the Department of Family & Community Services:
Ageing, Disability & Home Care
CONTENTS
The Housing Connection Vision, Mission, Values ...................................... 2 President’s Report ...................................................................................... 3 Treasurer’s Report...................................................................................... 5 Management Report ................................................................................... 6 The Housing Connection’s Workplace ..................................................... 11 Acknowledgements .................................................................................. 12 Financial Report ....................................................................................... 13 The Housing Connection Vision, Mission, Values
VISION
What we aspire to……
Rewarding and valued lives for all people with disabilities
MISSION
What we do…..
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We:
Support people who have intellectual and other disabilities to live
fulfilling lives in the community, as independently as possible
Place our clients at the centre of all we do. Their unique and individual
needs determine the services we deliver
Support, train and value staff to make this mission real
Manage ourselves responsibly to ensure our long-term viability
VALUES
How we approach it…..
Social Justice
The principle of valuing all individuals guides us to challenge unfair practices and
policies
Passion
We are passionate and committed to our work
Integrity
We are reliable and trustworthy, demonstrating the best practice with those we
support
Social Inclusion
We believe all people are entitled to the benefits of citizenship within our society
Respect
We treat all people with respect and understanding
Effectiveness
We focus on quality of life outcomes for the people we support
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President’s Report
It has been another busy year for THC as it prepares for the NDIS and continues
supporting clients to live fulfilling lives in the community as independently as possible.
This is my first year as President of the Board and I am honoured to be a part of the
team governing this unique and special organisation. I’d like to thank Maralyn Lawson,
Vice President, for her unwavering commitment during the year as we worked through
various challenges that are inevitable in an organisation transforming to adapt to a new
environment.
There have been a number of changes to board membership. At the last AGM, the
Board welcomed Robert Crowe, Stuart Lloyd-Hurwitz and Jenny Simpson to its
membership. We farewelled Lucyna Macdermott whose term ended, but who continued
to act as an Advisor to the Board. I’d like to thank Lucyna for her valued and varied
contributions. We also farewelled Kent Mudge, and it is with great sadness we
acknowledge his recent passing. Kent was the former President, a seasoned marketer
and a parent of one of our clients and will be sorely missed by the THC family.
The Board undertook a formal evaluation of its performance with the pro bono support of
Robyn Fitzroy from Ixion Board Governance Consulting in late 2014 which informed key
areas of focus for the year ahead. We have made good progress on some of these
areas and will strive to continue to focus on those areas where further work is needed.
A number of Board Committees continued and have been formed to assist the Board in
its work. These are outlined later in the report, but the three active Committees include:
Support and Monitoring (SAM) Committee which meets monthly to review client
progress against their plans, Finance and Risk Committee and Strategic Planning
Committee which has been focused on developing the next 3 year strategic plan for
THC 2016 – 2018.
Operationally, getting ready for NDIS has been a major focus. I am pleased to advise
that The Housing Connection received 3rd party verification early in 2015. A concerted
focus continues on implementing new processes, integrating systems and fundamentally
changing work practices to align with the NDIS environment.
Staff have continued to deliver exceptional quality services focusing on meeting each
person’s individual needs, tailoring support to meet this, developing individual capacity,
inclusion within the community and support to achieve exceptional outcomes.
Staff and clients participated in the production of a program – ‘Dying to Talk’, designed
to support people with intellectual disabilities in dealing with death and dying. The
‘Dying to Talk’ video recently won an award from the Australian Writers Guild (AWG) for
screenwriting.
The Housing Connection is a unique organisation because of its team. I would like to
acknowledge the tremendous contribution of our CEO Doug, a former President of the
Board and an individual who is extremely committed to delivering on the organisations
mission and vision. We are very fortunate to have Doug steering the organisation as it
makes the necessary transitions to continue providing quality care in an NDIS
environment.
Anne Louise Hickey heads up Client Services and works 24/7 to ensure the smooth
operation of The Housing Connection and that both staff and clients are exceptionally
supported. No challenge is beyond Anne Louise. She brings a real uniqueness to her
work with those we support and she is highly regarded and trusted.
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Karen Abel left the organisation to pursue a different career path. Karen was deeply
committed to ensuring quality systems to support only the highest quality of service
provision and to ensure the essence of The Housing Connection is manifested in all
we do.
I would also like to extend a huge thanks to the many staff who make up The Housing
Connection family and who undertake their work with such care and compassion
championing the social inclusion and social justice that underpin our focus.
My thanks to you all.
Michele Goldman
President
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Treasurer’s Report
Income Statement
Revenue for the year 2014-2015 increased by $191,743 or 6.3% compared to the prior
year. A number of clients joined THC through the Transition to Work Program.
In this financial year THC recorded an operating loss of $13,565. This was offset by
Interest Income, Donations and Sundry Income that totalled $175,928. The resultant
surplus for the year was then $162,363.
Employee expenses continue to be well managed and clients are being well supported.
All members of staff involved are to be congratulated. The new client information system
has been gradually phased in and is benefitting staff and clients.
Continuing improvements have been made to our property including $55,295 of work to
Willoughby Road, $21,219 of work at William Street and $51,141 at Willoughby Road.
THC is pleased to be able to use available funds wisely to increase the amenity of
clients living in these properties.
Balance Sheet
There have been no revaluations of Property Plant and Equipment during the year. A
transfer from reserves provided the funds for the above improvements to Willoughby
Road.
As of 30 June 2015, THC had a healthy cash balance of $3,646,024.
Outlook
Work is ongoing in relation to unit costing and client reporting in anticipation of the
introduction of the NDIS.
On a personal note I would like to express my appreciation for the support provided by
Tom Teh in carrying out my duties as Treasurer and wish him all the best in retirement. I
would also like to welcome Joyce Baillie who is our new accountant and is already
making a valuable contribution.
Morgan Woods
Treasurer
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Management Report
NDIS
Over the last 12 months, organisational development has continued to prepare for the
future roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and accessing a
range of sources of information and updates to assist our ongoing preparations. We
now know that the Northern Sydney District, where we provide services, will transition
into the scheme from 1 July 2016.
Under the NDIS, people will have more control about how they want to live their lives
and choice in the kind of support services they receive. This is consistent with the
philosophy of The Housing Connection and the way we have always worked. It will be
important to ensure that we can meet the NDIS pricing regime and remain viable and
sustainable on the one hand, whilst maintaining our quality of service on the other.
We are doing a great deal of work to prepare for the NDIS in particular with our
information capture and reporting systems (PROSIMS) and will be integrating this with
our finance system. We are meeting with the people we support and their families to
inform them of the changes which will occur under NDIS and how it may affect them. We
are also assisting each person and their family to prepare for the planning process so
that they are well positioned to obtain a plan from the NDIS that meets their needs.
Our Services
The William Street model and home for six people is now full. We would love to
duplicate this model to meet the needs of others seeking supported living options. This
model is working extremely well as a community hub to support each person’s individual
outcomes. As was noted by Gary Raftl of SAL Consulting “ten months after the first
tenants moved into William Street, the positive impact on their lives of the tenants is
phenomenal. Natural friendships have formed between the people living there – this has
helped those who felt lonely and isolated. There is a real sense of contentment,
connectedness and confidence. They have developed empathy for each other and offer
practical support – for example food if one of them is ill. The quality of their relationships
has improved and this group of friends regularly organises BBQs to which members of
the larger THC community (family members, friends, staff, other clients are invited).
Some go dancing or shopping together by choice. While each person has the security
of having a staff member available, they also have times when they receive individual
support as well as times when they are independent and able to pursue their own
interests.”
We are seeking to duplicate the benefits and outcomes achieved through William Street
and are working with a number of other organisations seeking land and other
opportunities for this type of model.
Roseville continues to be a safe and secure home for two people that require 24 hour
support. SAL Consulting has been engaged to review the service delivery model and
support needs to assist the staff in producing the very best outcomes for these two
people. Part of this work includes developing a Quality of Life measurement tool which
we intend to use across the whole organisation.
Transition to Work (TTW) has grown this year and currently supports 8 people.
Support is provided in skills development to support work and educational outcomes,
and involves a mix of training, work skill development, communication skills and
workforce experiences.
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Life Choices is a program that enables people over 25 years of age to be supported to
access opportunities of their choice in their community. Those who have chosen The
Housing Connection to provide them with this service, as with the TTW program, value
the individualised and self-directed nature of The Housing Connection approach.
Community Participation (CP) is the alternative post-school program to TTW. It is for
school leavers assessed as not likely to have employment as their primary day activity
due to having high support needs. The Housing Connection has provided this service to
individuals whose funds are administered by other agencies but we are now able to
provide this service directly and are able to receive and administer the funding for Selfmanaged and Individualised Community based options .We are attracting new people
seeking this service option.
In Home Accommodation Support (Drop In) continues to be our largest and most
challenging area of support options, however it continues to be our core business and
an area of ongoing need with people in our local communities seeking supported living
options. We continue to excel in this area, supporting people to transition from their
family home to live as independently as possible in their own home and to achieve their
goals. Existing clients receiving services are needing more support due to health and
ageing issues and some are transitioning from the service into aged care. We are
actively working with other organisations to influence policy and practice outcomes for
people who are ageing and seeking models of support that will sustain people in their
own homes and prevent premature admission into aged care.
Individualised and Self-Managed Funding is the NSW Government’s (Ageing
Disability and Home Care) response to calls for more choice and control of funding by
people with disability and has provided us with an insight into the way the National
Disability Insurance Scheme will operate.
People with individual funding are currently able to choose how their package is
managed and also to choose their support from a range of providers and are
encouraged to be more specific and self-determining about the kind of support they
would like to receive.
Supported Living Funding, again these are individual packages which focus on
capacity building and independent living. The Housing Connection supports 9 people
through this funding type and works closely with individuals and their families to deliver
services that they have designed.
Client, Family, Friends and Advocates Survey. Last year we engaged Voice Project
to prepare and run this survey and the results were very positive with clients indicating a
high level of satisfaction across most areas. The Voice survey will be run again in early
to mid-2016.
Staff
We continue to attract and retain people with diverse cultural and life experiences that
share in the core values and ethos of The Housing Connection. We also work hard to
match client needs and desires with the staff who support them. Our staff often go above
and beyond the call of duty to provide quality support to clients of The Housing
Connection.
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Inevitably we have had a number of staff who have left over the last 12 months.
Finding the right staff to join our team/s is an ongoing challenge. Despite this, the
organisation has higher retention rates compared to the sector. We spend a great deal
of effort and resources in staff training and this is a strong point of difference. We
also continue to conduct staff appraisals and the opportunity for staff to develop
professionally and personally.
We ran a Staff Engagement Survey organised by Voice Project last year which
indicated a high participation rate and excellent results against industry benchmarks. We
continue to work on those areas of possible improvement indicated in the survey.
Generally we believe staff morale and work satisfaction is high and we try hard to
support staff to make their work as rewarding and fulfilling as possible.
We are grateful for and acknowledge the length of service and commitment of so many
of our staffing members.
Networks
We continue to attend the many and varied National Disability Services forums which
provide valuable information on the NDIS. We are regularly meeting with other
organisations to learn and share information on NDIS and the sector generally and are
looking to form closer relationships and alliances with organisations with a similar vision
and values to ours. The extent and depth of these relationships will be informed by our
strategic direction and ultimately by responding to unmet needs in the sector.
Our client services team continually networks at a number of levels on behalf of clients.
In the community the organisation does its very best to support our clients by engaging
with a range of parties including stakeholders, day services and other providers. We are
members of the Northside Community Forum and we regularly attend the Forum’s
Leadership series. Doug Talbert recently was elected onto the Board of the NSW NDS
State Committee and is looking forward to actively being engaged in this role.
As in previous years, we continue to receive excellent support from SAL consulting
whom we work with closely around staff training, clinical services, counselling for those
whom we support, implementation of a best practice restricted practice panel process
and associated procedures along with independent representation. In addition they are
supporting the development of a workforce development framework. We deeply value
the close working relationship we have with team at SAL.
We continued to enjoy a positive and productive relationship with staff from all sections
of Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC) and wish to acknowledge our thanks for
their ongoing support.
We recently presented to Chatswood Local Rotary Branch and received a generous
donation. We were also fortunate in receiving two grants totalling more than $32,000 via
Club Grants from Chatswood RSL. We continue our close contacts with LINK whose
support we greatly appreciate. We are developing a good relationship with Willoughby
Leisure Centre with whom we intend to implement a Fit and Healthy program for Clients
and are holding discussions with Apple and others to implement a technology program
(supported by both Chatswood RSL and James N Kirby Foundation) to support our
Clients in living as independently as possible. We thank all our supporters and donors.
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Management / Organisational capacity
Karen Abel has recently resigned to pursue extending her passion for training. This is a
loss for the organisation, with her focus on organisational development and the progress
we have made to date with her input. We will miss her contribution as a key member of
the management team and wish her all the best in her new role, and also to her
remaining a part of The Housing Connection community. We thank Karen for her
tremendous commitment to the organisation over the last three years.
We are fortunate to have had Nicola Hayhoe join us on a part-time basis taking over key
functions previously undertaken by Karen as Business Development Manager, focusing
on organisational development and systems to support excellence in service delivery.
Nicola brings a wealth of knowledge and skills in these areas as well as strong
knowledge of the NDIS and strategic planning and therefore significantly strengthens the
management capacity at The Housing Connection. Nicola also worked with the
organisation until 2008 and has a strong affinity and knowledge of the organisation.
Work Health and Safety and Legal compliance
We have only had one loss of time injury this year which is well below industry
benchmarks and a credit to the diligence and care of our staff team. Potential risks to
staff have also been controlled by an increase in training and implementation of clinically
supervised programs of support.
We continue to ensure that our range of legal obligations are met.
Board and Support Monitoring Committee
The Board has been very active in supporting Management through a number of
Committees as mentioned by the President. I do wish to mention in particular, a key
committee of the Board being the SAM Committee, which has met regularly and
continues its great work in reviewing each person’s personal plans and progress. Many
people present their own plan/goals which is a wonderful achievement. We continue to
work through how best to capture and record individual outcomes.
The Year Ahead
People we support continue to be at the heart of the organisation and the only reason
the organisation exists – a sentiment acknowledged across The Housing Connection.
Likewise, our staff are critical to all we do in providing direct support options and in
focusing and achieving individual outcomes. A key task in the year ahead will be to
implement the new strategic plan. This will require a Branding, Marketing and
Fundraising strategy and the allocation of the necessary staff and resources to
implement the plan. We look forward to close Board support in carrying out this work.
We need to continue to prepare the organisation for the NDIS by recruiting and retaining
quality staff and to continue to build the knowledge and skills of our staffing teams in the
transition to the NDIS environment.
We also intend to continue working hard to prepare our accounting and finance system
and processes to provide individualised accounts and allow for invoicing under NDIS.
This work is progressing well.
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Finally we will be striving to ensure all our decisions of whatever kind are directed at
achieving our Mission and are in accordance with our Vision and Values.
Management Team
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The Housing Connection’s Workplace
As a people focused organisation our employees are our greatest asset. They are a
passionate and committed team dedicated to providing the best service possible to
support our clients and their families.
The Housing Connection Staff
The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff, past and present for all
their dedication and hard work. Without your efforts The Housing Connection could not be
the service it is.
CEO
Doug Talbert
Client Services Manager:
Anne Louise Hickey
Business Development Manager: Nicola Hayhoe
Project Managers:
Inna Keum & Laurence Bathurst
Accounts Officer:
Joyce Baillie
Consultant
Thomas Teh
Administration Officer:
Katharine Coward
Administration Assistant:
Kelsey Cheney
24 hour Community Living
Team Leader:
Senior Social Educators:
Social Educators:
Anu Mukhija
Rodney Martin
Phil Wareham
Niluxshi Alexander
Marina Avagyan
Ina Blomerus
Bishnu Simkhada
Matthew Wilson
Goma Panta
Barbara Soares E Madureira
Kundan Aryal
Steven Bachmayer
Marianne Connors
Usha Sharma
Drop-In Community Living
Team Leaders:
Senior Social Educators:
Social Educators:
Julian Kim
Victoria Sutherland
Neda Gluhajic
Sacha Zunic
Louise Anderson
Andrew Fedorovitch
Kristen Grisdale
Esther Kim
Andrew Muir
Peter Rutkin
James Pickering
Yun Yoo
Katja Zurbuchen
Monique Enright
Celine George
Enisa Hazroli
Min Kim
Anne Pyke
Learning & Life Skills
Team Leader:
Senior Social Educator:
Social Educators:
Laurence Bathurst
Hannah Clark
Drew Cormack
Monique Enright
Anne Pyke
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Dave Cragg
Kristen Grisdale
Staff who left The Housing Connection in the last year:
Karen Abel
Azahara Alonso Bas
Therese Corneliusson
Carol Huckstadt
Kegan Kashian
Celina Magill
Lachlan McLeay
Rezgar Pakravan
Greg Reynolds
Katina Velkou
Acknowledgements
The Housing Connection would like to thank the following individuals and
organisations which are just a few of the many that have supported our work
throughout the year:
Chatties Café at Dougherty Centre
Chatswood FACS team
Chatswood Rotary
Chatswood RSL
Fighting Chance, Frenchs Forest
Fran Connelly Marketing
John Polgar
Kwik Kopy Chatswood - Alastair & Andrew Bannerman
Help Street
LifeSource Church, Chatswood
LINK Housing team
Michele Weise & Roger Stancliffe from the Death & Dying team at Sydney University
David Amery & the New Horizons team
Nick Logan Pharmacy
Pettet Landscapes
SAL Consulting, Gary Raftl, Katrina Halpin, Nicola Roberts, Matt Kelly & all the team
Studio Artes
Sunnyfield Enterprises, Stephanie and team
Sydney Home Nursing, Julie Cooper and team
The Men’s Shed
Woods Cottage, Fiona Larin & team
Your assistance and support is greatly appreciated and helps significantly in enabling the
organisation to focus our resources on client support. Thank you!!!
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THE HOUSING CONNECTION LIMITED
Financial Report
For the year ended 30th June 2015
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CONTACT US
The Housing Connection Limited
31 Albert Avenue
Chatswood NSW 2067
Ph: (02) 9415-2311
Fax: (02) 9413-4770
Email: thc@thc.org.au
Website: www.thc.org.au