There is nothing more gratifying as an NDIS Lifestyle Support Worker than watching your clients shine. Recently, two of our wonderful Support Workers, Shaunte and Mosese, accompanied two of our NDIS participants on a weekend away to Townsville.
The goal of the trip was to fulfil Stephen’s long-held goal of planning out and going to the Townsville Stadium to watch the Cowboys play. Tony joined Stephen for the trip so they could share costs and give him more confidence with his social and problem solving skills to be able to attend community events and build more social connections.
The trip was an outstanding success, not only ticking off bucket-list experiences for both participants, but also building their confidence in different scenarios and stretching their boundaries. It’s incredibly important for NDIS participants in remote areas of Australia to have these diverse experiences to enrich their lives, and Stream Services is proud to deliver them.
There’s obviously quite a lot of logistics and paperwork involved in getting a trip like this organised, but when you see the results, it’s absolutely worth every bit of effort.
Stream Services Founder Alec McConnell said that Stream Services is all about people and community. Going to a football game with your mates and not a parent is a great example of what many people take for granted. The NDIS enables true participation in our community of everyone, no matter what their ability or disability may be.
It is so touching to see life-changing goals being achieved by Participants with our help. Every time this happens it means our community is stronger and the lives of locals such as Stephen and Tony are enriched beyond measure.
Rather than us telling you about it, we’ll let Shaunte and Mosese do the talking. Here’s what they have to say about ‘The Townsville Trip!’
Shaunte Francis
We were blown away by the success of our recent trip to Townsville to fulfil two of our participants’ NDIS goals.
It was a pretty special moment watching Stephen and Tony’s faces light up walking into the stadium to watch the Cowboys, and seeing their excitement about their independent hotel rooms.
Seeing them interact so well with strangers in the community was a really proud moment. I’ve never seen the two of them chat so easily with people: talking to strangers about the weather, football, really opening up and feeling comfortable. They also mastered everyday skills like ordering meals, going through the drive-through, and eating new foods. (Turns out churros are a HIT.)
We loved watching Tony get a kick out of walking on the beach and then feeding wallabies by hand at the Billabong wildlife sanctuary. And hearing them both laugh for ages in the back of the car on the way back from the footy game was a huge high-point of the weekend, everyone’s energy just bouncing off each other.
Trips like this show NDIS participants from remote communities that it’s a whole big world out there, and gives them the skills to better navigate it.
They both absolutely nailed it on this trip on so many levels, and we all had a blast.
We knew the guys had enjoyed themselves, but it was great to hear from one of the participant’s dads on our return. “What did you give him on that trip? He was so happy and energised for days afterwards!”
This is why we do what we do.
It’s a great reflection on Stream Services that we could follow through on the NDIS goals and organise that experience for the participants. That we helped make it actually happen for them really built the participant’s trust in Stream and the NDIS more broadly.
It made them understand that these NDIS goals aren’t just something that you write on paper and forget about, we can deliver.
The Townsville trip was a big highlight of my time at Stream Services. To see the guys so happy and excited in Townsville was pretty special — both personally and professionally. And I’d love to facilitate more experiences like that.
Mosese
Stephen had always had this goal, to go to the stadium in Townsville and watch the Cowboys Play. It was such a great moment that we were able to actually action the process and deliver the outcome.
For Tony (Anthony), the trip was part of building his independent living skills and community engagement. It was the first time Tony had been away from his dad in a decade.
For both of them, this trip was huge. It was massive. Tony was really outside his comfort zone, he did really well. Stephen is from Townsville, so he was in his element when it came to being tour guide and navigator. We let him take the lead. It made him feel confident and let him know that we took his skills seriously. (Who needs Google Maps when you’ve got Stephen!)
These guys complemented each other really well. Tony laughed in the car from the stadium all the way home, and Stephen joined in. I’d never seen Stephen laugh like that before. Being part of Stephen’s journey is incredible. He’s in his 60’s and still hitting new milestones.
We’re not here just looking after our Participants on autopilot. We’re trying to make their lives richer, build their experiences, build their skills.
It was so good to see them succeed in such a different environment. It’s exactly what we’re working towards. We want them to shine. We want them to speak up. We want them to engage. We want to see them live. You know?
I would love to see more of these outcomes in future. I love to see the client engage in different activities — do they want to go to the rodeo? To karaoke? Do they want to use their talents, like artwork, do they want to go fishing? Do they want to go to the beach? Simple things, like a beach trip, are often so appreciated.
I am grateful that this Townsville trip was made to happen. It’s a powerful thing to be a part of — enabling them to be part of the community, to be themselves, to be able to engage in different things, with different people.
Like Shaunte says, it’s why we do what we do!