Social Inclusion and Social Support Training program
About the training
The Brotherhood of St Laurence is concerned about the growing number of older people and people with disabilities who are being excluded from Australian society as a result of age, disability, illness or chronic disease. This social exclusion can be seen in people who become socially isolated and feel a sense of loneliness in their lives. Through its aged and community care services, the Brotherhood has encountered many people who live alone and who have little or no contact with the outside world for weeks or months at a time. Often a person’s only source of company is their television or their pets. Their spouse and close friends may have passed away, the person may be no longer able to pursue their hobbies or their pastimes as they once did or their disability may mean they cannot venture outside their home.
As a result of this concern “The Social Inclusion Training Program” has been developed.
Aims of the program
- to INSPIRE staff to understand the importance of social support and social inclusion in the lives of their clients
- to ENCOURAGE staff to think “outside the box” when developing social support programs/activities
- to FACILITATE knowledge and understanding of social support issues
- to understand the LINK between social inclusion and the goals of the individual client care plan.
- to PROMOTE the importance of community development considerations in the development of social support programs.
- to PROVIDE tools and resources to help service providers to create high quality programs
Who is the training aimed at?
This exciting 2 day training program is aimed at care managers and professionals working in the field of aged care and disability services, and organizations that wish to ensure that they are meeting new standards of care in the implementation of the active service model, using restorative and person-centred principles.
The training is able to be delivered at your premises, or at our Overton Rd, Frankston office, and can be structured over a 2 week period to cater to the workloads of your staff.
Features
The program is made up of 9 modules:
- Theories of social inclusion, exclusion, social support and ageing – an introduction to the history and context of the program, definitions of social inclusion, social exclusion, social support and loneliness
- The social determinants of health in the context of ageing.
- Community development –an introduction to the concepts of community development, power and health –an exploration of how empowerment, engagement, community participation and advocacy fit within the framework of community development.
- Recreation and lifestyle person-centred care – how to engage people in leisure, learning, recreation and sporting groups, and identifying the value of developing a social support program based on people’s talents and interests
- The volunteering experience – valuing and building on the skills and talents of the people receiving community care services, highlighting the challenges and rewards that come from volunteering
- Implementing change – identifying and exploring the planning required to implement change
- Ageing and person centred care – exploring the theories of ageing, examining individual perceptions of ageing and introducing person centred care concepts
- Overcoming barriers to service delivery – exploration of issues and barriers to socially inclusive service delivery and discussion of solutions to overcome these barriers
- How to develop an inclusive social support program
Paticipant survey
Take a look at what others have had to say about this program by downloading our participant survey report.
Participants were asked a range of quesions about the program, including how stimulating the training was, how relevant it was to their current work, the structure of the program and activities and resources used.
Facilitators
The facilitators of this program are two highly experienced Care Managers, Joe Spano and Carolyn McAlister who currently work for Brotherhood Community Care, and share over 30 years experience in the field of community care. Carolyn and Joe firmly believe that education should be interesting, informative and relevant but most of all fun! The workshops employ the use of video, group discussion, individual worksheets and small group brainstorming as well as music to keep the group focused!
Past attendees have expressed their appreciation of having facilitators who are currently employed in the field who can wholly understand the day to day realities of working with older people and people with disabilities:
Biographies of facilitators:
Carolyn McAlister
Carolyn has a background in Social Work, and has worked in the field of Aged and Disability care for 19 years -HACC Assessment Officer in local government, intake and assessment officer for residential care, Chairperson of Senior Citizens Week Steering Committee Frankston City and Care Manager in local government, RDNS and BSL for the last 14 years. Carolyn is passionate about the importance of social inclusion in the lives of her clients, and presented “…and something to look forward to” at the Care Managers State Conference in 2009.
When Carolyn isn’t Care Managing, facilitating workshops or being a domestic manager/kid wrangler, she enjoys dancing, listening to music and reading biographies –her favourite TV show is Spicks and Specks and she also loves to laugh!
Joe Spano
Joe’s background is in Education and Training and for many years worked as a professional performing artist and musician. He also worked with a public speaking and presentation training company for the corporate sector. His passion for community work commenced many years ago when he managed a cultural and community development program in a migrant resource centre in Prahran where he met many migrant artists and musicians struggling to become established in Australia. He ran an art gallery and provided opportunities for musicians to form their groups and orchestras. His move into Aged Care was serendipitous and has been with the Brotherhood of St Laurence for nearly ten years.
Joe recognises the importance of social inclusion especially with the elder community where isolation is common. The emotional and physical health improves significantly when people meet people. Joe’s therapy is guitar, painting and reading esoteric books. He also loves to laugh.
Booking Information
Download our registration form
Contact Ann Stanley
Brotherhood Aged and Community Care Information
bacci@nullbsl.org.au or call 1300 147 147