Staff Matters
September 9, 2016- Issue 71 Week 11
More Cherrywood Residents On The Move
In this Issue Page 1 • More Cherrywood Residents On The Move
Page 2 • Staff Profile • Clients Join The Club! • Green Valley Father’s Day Spectacular
Page 3 • DES Counsellor, Luke Papallo, Talks About The Power Of Positivity
Page 4
Recently Bruce Taylor, Colin Betts, Michael Tierney, Mark McKenzie and Brett Stevens moved into their new home in Penrith. On the day of the move, everyone was excitedly putting the final touches on the packing job they had done at Cherrywood while eagerly waiting for the removalist, then placing all their furniture and personal belongings into their customised bedrooms. Once all the unpacking was complete, the men then cooked with staff assistance their first meal in their new home and all ate together telling stories of how their day went. This is the second new group home out of 6 which has seen excited new residents move in, stay tuned as we finish the final touches of more group homes shortly!
T 02 8805 3700 E info@afford.com.au 12 Marieanne Place, Minchinbury 2770 afford.com.au
• Campbelltown Client, Oliver, Works On His Dream • Afford Selfies • Have A Laugh
Reminder Don’t forget to send your/clients achievements and good news stories & photo’s to CELEBRATE@afford.com.au
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September 9, 2016 - Issue 71
Staff Profile
Clients Join The Club! Club Afford has officially kicked off and is growing in popularity with over 50 clients already signing up to become official Club Afford members. As part of the membership clients get an exclusive Club Afford bag which includes a wristband, drink bottle, lanyard, shirt and of course your very own membership card!
Tracy Younie
Team Leader Cherrywood Favourite Song: Africa by Toto Favourite Movie: The Green Mile
We have a lot more great activities coming up including IWA pro wrestling, Richmond Jubilee, Guns and Roses concert and many more, so spread the word and join the club!
Green Valley Father’s Day Spectacular
Favourite Hobbies: Music, Jigsaw puzzles, hanging out with my favorite people (shh the people at Cherrywood) Favourite Foods: Prawns, Prawns, Prawns If you could be an animal what would you be: A Chicken at Cherrywood What is your dream holiday destination: Hawaii If you had the power what would you change about the world: For everyone in the world to get along What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you: Surprise 40th Birthday party If you had to teach something what would you teach:Singing I would love to sing (I can’t sing) Something no one knows about me:I love snow skiing, I have skied around the world in my 20’s
On Tuesday 30.08.2016, during the art and craft program, clients were supported by the facilitator Antoinette and the staff from Green Valley Lifestyle Centre to create a spectacular Father’s Day gift from scratch. The clients enjoyed cutting out the dough, getting creative with the shapes, colours, textures and the general look and feel of the package. During the preparatory phase, it was not clear what the final product would look like, but they turned out to be absolutely spectacular and mesmerising. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words, and it is clear to see, that the clients had a lot of fun completing this and take a look at the finished product!!!
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September 9, 2016 - Issue 71
DES Cousellor, Luke Papallo, Talks About The Power Of Positivity It was December 2014, and I had just received the news there was a 99% probability that I had lymphatic cancer. I was 28 and about to be married, suddenly my whole world was turned upside down! Prior to this, I had been enjoying my job as a counsellor, assisting people with mental and physical disabilities (including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, OCD, personality and eating disorders). I thought how lucky I was, having a job that really made a difference in peoples’ lives and having a wedding just around the corner. Little did I know my luck would dramatically change. Being diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma changed my mental and physical attitude to life. I no longer felt I was immortal and realised that I could lose my life. My wonderful future, which I had taken for granted was now in jeopardy. Why was it happening to me? I experienced a range of thoughts and feelings, some stronger than others – but the biggest and most influential was the belief that I was going to be OK. This wasn’t a superficial knowing, but a strong sense of certainty and determination. I undertook a range of approaches to turn my health around. These included six months of chemotherapy, water fasting for twelve days, diet and nutrition alternatives, bioreasonce therapy, sacral cranial therapy, meditation and much more. Essentially I endeavoured to pragmatically blend conventional treatment with more natural alternatives. During the treatment period my health professionals, my fiancée and family and friends assisted me mentally and physically in the journey I had to take, along the path I had chosen. This coupled with the high self-belief in my own resistance, patience and persistence; I knew my chances of survival and a healthy life were very likely. I know it sounds strange, it was as if this challenge was meant to happen to me; I was supposed to learn many lessons while I experienced something terrifying and life threatening. I still work as a counsellor, assisting people with mental and physical disabilities, and gaining more and more satisfaction every session. I married the love of my life, and we are now looking ahead at a bright and fulfilling future together. This challenge we faced together caused us to grow even closer. I now realise every day is so precious, so valuable and should be appreciated to the max. When people hear the saga of my illness some say “What an experience, there must have been so much growth and learning”. Throughout the nine months, from being diagnosed, having multiple surgeries, researching alternate and different treatments, meeting amazing and life changing individuals I can say there is a big part of me grateful to have gone through the experience. My patience, determination, mental and physical faculties were constantly being tested. To come out the other side with many learnings and insights is priceless. I wouldn’t wish cancer (or any other disease/illness) onto anyone but I do wish and hope that people find determination, resilience and learning from facing the challenges which life throws at you. This huge challenge which came into my life has given me so much, and changed my life forever. If it were to happen again, I know with confidence and certainty I would be in a more prepared and fearless state.
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September 9, 2016 - Issue 71
Campbelltown Client, Oliver, Works On His Dream The Campbelltown Lifestyle Centre are celebrating the success of one of their clients, Oliver, after he obtained work experience at Opposite Lock, a 4x4 parts, accessories, and fitters shop in the Narellan Business Park. Oliver’s dream is to one day move to northern NSW and start his own giant 4x4 parts and accessories shop. He wants to be the owner of a shop just like Opposite Lock! The journey of getting some kind of work experience for Oliver has been a long one, involving a meeting with the head of the Automotive Department at Mt Druitt TAFE, introducing himself accompanied by our Campbelltown staff to various business proprietors in the Campbelltown area with little success, many emails and phone calls, and finally finding that the manager of Opposite Lock was willing to give him a go! Needless to say, Oliver is very excited and keen to learn everything he can from this experience. So far we have actually helped perform a minor service on a vehicle, observed and assisted with the replacement of a torsion bar suspension system, observed and assisted with the installation of a pre-filter system, and observed and assisted with the fitting of a bull-bar. We’re so happy with this success and are proud of our efforts to delight one of our customers and his family with this program! A big thanks to Anthony Fitzgerald, a Campbelltown Lifestyle Assistant, for putting in a good word for us to the manager at Opposite Lock whom he was acquainted with. Also a big thank you to the manager at Opposite Lock, Anthony (not Fitzgerald), for giving us this opportunity, and his team: Jamie, Troy, and Lachlan, for their professionalism and friendliness towards Oliver and the staff at Campbelltown.
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In this Selfie Above: Staff Members Emma and Rhiannon with our new call centre dog, Rex. He enjoys hearing all the sale spills, sharing lunches and getting lots of cuddles. He very much enjoyed his visit from Rhiannon and believe it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship!
Please send in your selfies
Have a laugh