Staff Matters 261

Staff Matters June 12, 2020 Issue 261 Week 50

CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF PROVIDING THE KEY TO COMMUNICATION

Afford is committed to providing Key Word Sign for our clients, carers, staff, family and friends. Successful communication is important and Key Word Sign makes it easier for individuals who struggle to express themselves.

What is Key Word Sign? Key Word Sign is the use of hand signs to represent the key word of a sentence to support communication. It is designed for both children and adults to use who have communication difficulties.

Recently Afford launched a Key Word Sign social media campaign releasing two new Key Word Sign videos each week for you to try!

In addition to these digital videos, ‘Signs of the Month’ posters for our clients and staff to use have been developed by our Marketing team with help from Allied Health and can be requested for sites to use.

In This Issue 1

Providing the Key to Communication Afford Trivia Ask Our CEO

2

Men’s Health Week - Get fit for Wellbeing Staff Profile

3

4

A DES Success Story!

Reminder Afford’s Got Swag!

Handyman Timetable Selfies of the Week

The posters help everyone to take the opportunity to learn and encourage inclusive communication at our sites. Featured on the posters are the corresponding line drawings of the signs which are another helpful instruction. We encourage everyone to get involved and practice using them.

Upcoming Events Trivia Answer

Principles of Key Word Sign: • Always use speech together with the sign

• Speak in grammatical sentences • Sign only the key words in the sentence • Use facial expression and body language • Use directionality and placement Want to know more about key word sign?

Contact our Allied Health Speech Pathology team on 1300 233 673 or email alliedhealth@afford.com.au The information in this story is provided from KWS NSW and KWS Australia. http://www.kwsnsw.com/home/about-key-word-sign https://kwsa.com.au/

I am working in Australia on a temporary visa. Am i eligible for the JobKeeper payment?

To be eligible for the JobKeeper payment, an employee must be an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder at 1 March 2020.

www.afford.com.au

Staff Matters

STAFF PROFILE NAME: Mitch Liddicoat POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Worrigee Group Home, NSW FAVOURITE MUSIC/SONG? Speed Racer - Masked Wolf FAVOURITE MOVIE? The Longest Yard FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Going to the gym, rugby league & spending time with my family.

FAVOURITE FOODS? Homemade Lasagna IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? An Elephant WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Bora Bora IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? End world hunger IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? General life and living skills as they can use it forever SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? I played football for Canberra Raiders when I was younger

June 12, 2020 Issue 261

MEN’S HEALTH WEEK - GET FIT FOR WELLBEING

National Men’s Health Week begins on Monday the 15th of June and is a week-long event that focuses on heightening awareness of preventable health problems and encourages early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. Each year Afford supports men’s health and well-being and shares inspirational stories of men who have conquered a challenge to improve their own health and wellbeing.

Brys from Afford’s Neptune Group Home and Daryl from the Dolphin Cove Group Home, this year have set their sights on increasing their fitness to improve their overall wellbeing.

Both men feel that getting healthy will increase their self-confidence and enable them to get involved in a range of activities with friends. They both enjoy going out to the park to kick the footy around. Daryl also hopes to travel when restrictions ease.

To achieve these goals, our amazing lifestyle assistants will support them from start to finish. Brys is one of the younger residents of Neptune. His target is to lose weight and lead a more active lifestyle. With lifestyle assistant, Pauline, Brys goes on daily walks for exercise.

Together they stretch before they start their walk and then set off to explore the local parks around Brys’ home. They stop along the way to take in the surrounds and also take the opportunity to use some of the park equipment for exercise.

At home, Pauline encourages Brys to opt for healthy snacks and meal options. He now always includes greens with his meals and is enjoying trying new foods.

With support from Pauline, Brys lost four kilograms in just three weeks! He can already feel the difference that losing the weight has made to his daily routine. He finds it easier to move around and he has more energy.

For Daryl, exercise helps his muscles and flexibility. He has a series of exercises to follow provided by an exercise physiologist. Daryl is being supported to work through three sets of the exercise routines, to help achieve his goal.

Daryl is continually improving his flexibility and reaching his goals.

Afford and our staff create positive environments to support individuals to reach their full potential. It is great to see two of our residents being supported to achieve their goal of improved fitness and health.

www.afford.com.au

June 12, 2020 Issue 261

Staff Matters MEN’S HEALTH WEEK - STEVEN RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

Men’s Health Week now celebrates the strengths of men, the contributions they make and the important role they play in society. It is as much as week of celebration and engagement of men with a serving of health on the side! Men are far less likely than women to seek help, both from friends and professionals. While there has been progress, we are yet to break the ongoing stigma around men asking for help. This is why Steven’s story is so important to share. Asking for support can lead to amazing outcomes for your health, wellbeing and carer.

At Afford we would like to celebrate Steven, who is a sensational forklift driver at Afford Minchinbury Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE). He is an enthusiastic worker and a dedicated dad. At the Minchinbury factory, he is considered a friend by all his peers.

Steven loves his job at Minchinbury ADE, but he is always looking for ways to challenge himself. He wants to do better and most importantly, he wants to be a great role model for his kids.

At work, Steven would like to take on more responsibility. That means developing his reading and writing skills and improving his maths ability.

He spoke with his supervisor, Megan, about his ambition to develop his skill set. Megan supported Steven to connect with a speech pathologist to develop strategies to work towards his goal.

Over the weeks, Steven has participated in sessions with his speech pathologist to familiarise himself with numbers and terminology used at the factory. Megan provides sample paperwork for Steven to practice and supplies him with stock numbers to populate the forms.

As his skills have progressed, Megan has given Steven greater responsibility to load the truck and count the stock as it comes in. Steven has exceeded all expectations.

Hard work, determination and the right attitude to take on any challenge has resulted in Steven now being able to complete paperwork without the help of supervisors.

“I want my boys to know that you can achieve anything if you work hard and don’t give up,” said Steven.

We have a strong culture at Afford that does not allow nepotism, favouritism and bullying, that creates an environment where everybody knows that they will be accepted and encouraged to reach out if you need support.

Reminder!

Staff please be reminded about the importance of social distancing while we out with our clients in the community or in a vehicle.

• In a HiAce van there should only be max of 2 staff and 3 clients.

• In an iMAX there should only be max of 1 staff and 3 clients.

• Standard car there should only be max 1 staff and 1 client.

Help stop the spread and keep safe Affordians!

www.afford.com.au

June 12, 2020 Issue 261

Staff Matters AFFORD’S GOT SWAG!

The first of our Afford bomber and soft-shell jackets will hit the streets next week! Looking sleek and keeping you warm in winter, this is yet another Afford Employer of Choice initiative we offer our staff. The bomber jackets offer you a warm option which you can layer shirts and long sleeve t-shirts underneath, great for outdoor events or for rainy cold days! Our soft-shell jackets are great for those wanting a ‘sleeker’ more professional look, whilst still being wind/waterproof.

We love seeing you all in your Afford jackets and keeping warm out in the community. The positive benefits of wearing are uniform are: • They help promote customer loyalty and engage customers • It is positive for the image of the company • It also helps employees to feel part of the same team – Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe!

Lip balms are another new addition for our Afford swag which have been sent out and sites have started receiving. A great option for keeping our lips hydrated in the colder months.

We’re pretty set for winter now, but we always appreciate new ideas and feedback. Please make sure you’re always giving feedback positive or negative about our swag through the use of our surveys!

Handyman Timetable Meet Our Handyman Tahier

Our Handy Man, Tahier, will be at the following sites this week: - Monday 15th June:

Mount Druitt & St Marys Respite

- Tuesday 16th June:

Billabong, Dolphin & Empire Group Homes

- Wednesday 17th June:

Minto, Ingleburn & Prestons ADE

- Thursday 18th June:

Windsor & True Blue Group Home

- Friday 19th June:

Weekly catch up and urgent requests

SELFIES OF THE WEEK

nrith Group Selfie Above: Pe residents with d an ff Homes sta lipbalms! their new Afford

Pawsome Se lfie Above: Urrea, LSA Adriana M Homes and elbourne Group her spotty fur baby.

UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:

EVENT:

15th - 21st June

International Men’s Health Week

26th June

Bring Your Dog To Work Day

15th - 21st June

International Men’s Health Week

30th June

World Social Media Day

A: Silence

www.afford.com.au