stepping stones clubhouse may 2011

8/7/2019 Stepping Stones ClubHouse May 2011

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/stepping-stones-clubhouse-may-2011 1/16

Article

Binna Burra CampingTrip 1-2

Visit From Kevin Rudd 3

Training At The

Independence Centre4

Training Report 5

Staff Interview 6

RBWH Health Expo 7

Dental Services Article 8

TE Interview 9

E & E & Housing Report 10

Hospitality & CATReport 11

Members Volunteering 12

Community Information& Birthdays 13

Housing ProfileInterview 14

Cool Photos FromRecent Events 15

Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm2nd & 4th Friday of the month (E& E Dinner), Wednesday Weekly 4:30pm—7:30pm (Social/Recreation)

Thursday Weekly 4.30pm - 6:30pm (Exercise)Saturday 11am - 4pm (Social/Recreation); Sunday 11am-3pm (Social/Recreation); Public Holidays 11am-4pm (Social/

Recreation )

Stepping Stone Clubhouse is a certified member of theInternational Centre for Clubhouse Development

Creating pathways to better mental health PO Box 249, Unit 9/61 Holdsworth St, Coorparoo QLD 4151

www.steppingstoneclubhouse.org.au

Look outfor ourSocial

RecreationCalendar

Insert!

Adventures of Binna Burra CampingBy Tom Grace

I awoke on the first of April with a sense of foreboding and anticipation. Theidea of the Binna Burra camp excited me, but also the thought of such a longroad trip in the ute filled me with doubt...will I make it? Will it be everythingI hoped for? And not surprisingly, it filled all of my expectations. Picturesquescenery akin to something out of Lord of the Rings crept up on me, and as Imade my way through the valley on the Nerang – Murwillumbah road headingtowards Binna Burra, my mind was racing with the thoughts of sleeping out inthe cold, under the stars and with the leeches.

We arrived at Binna Burra to find the members from Toowoomba, alreadysettled with snacks and coffee served. The thought of making new friends wascircling around my brain. I met a range of wonderful people whose readinessto connect was apparent.

Friday night was spent sitting around a warm fire, telling tales, stories andsinging along to chilled out music. The smell of marsh mellows toasting filledmy nostrils with that old camping smell while a few shivers ran up my spinefrom the bitter cold. Members dropped like flies to their bunks steadilythroughout the night, while a small group of night owls sat around tellingjokes and sharing some deep details, which were told in the highestconfidentiality.



Steppin’ Out– May 2011

The Newsletter of Stepping Stone Clubhouse Inc.

The following day, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise in the crisp mountain air and revelled in theamazing scenery. I commenced the day that was full of exciting activities that catered to theincredibly brave and limber. These ranged from rainforest walks, to a flying fox that wasconsidered to be something akin to a Dreamworld roller coaster. I could choose to relax and takein everything the camp offered and I had the option to trek a ten kilometre journey, with orwithout injuring my knee like Shazza. Although a mountain bike ride was beyond me, many othercampers hopped on their steel steed and rode through the mountains almost like John Waynewithout the stirrups.

After a full day of excitement people returned exhausted, but with enough left in their tank tojoin in on the bush dancing extravaganza in the main lodge. It was worth the muscle pain and thesleep deprivation. On returning from the dance, campers sat around the fire, feeling relaxed andsatisfied and again told jokes and made connections.

The friendships formed will without doubt be the precipice to lifelong relationships, not only forthe campers but also for Stepping Stone Clubhouse, Toowoomba Clubhouse and CanefieldsClubhouse.

On behalf of all the Campers on the 2011 Binna Burra camp, we would like to congratulate Shazzaand Michelle for their outstanding effort and organisational skills to make this camp stay in thememories of all of us. We also thank Darren and Sian for their contribution in running the event.Thank you for showing us that your care and mateship comes from the heart, as our appreciationdoes for you.

Upcoming Event—Inter Clubhouse Fun Day!By Dave G

Saturday 28 May, Limestone Park, IpswichPlans for the Inaugural Inter-Clubhouse Fun Day are well under way and we areall getting excited at the prospect of a fun-filled day of games, sports andactivities with our brothers and sisters from Jacaranda, Canefields & ToowoombaClubhouses. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for continual up-dates as to the progress.





Clubhouse Mission Statement:

The Clubhouse’s mission is to assistadults with a mental illness in

developing the skills and confidencenecessary to lead satisfying andproductive lives in their community.This assistance is provided in a

psychosocial program designed toempower and support its members.

Clubhouse MembershipRights

- The right to a place to come- The right to meaningful relationships

- The right to meaningful work- A right to a place to return

Editorial…

Another month has passed and we haveplenty of jam packed articles for you to enjoyreading! The report on the combined Clubhousecamp kicks things off in this months newsletter.We’ve got special reports from our (recentlyreturned) training group, community expo and

community garden, as well as our usual unitreports. There are profiles on staff, membersand T.E. jobs– read them to get to know usbetter!

Don’t forget to read the article about theInter Clubhouse fun day on page 2. We also hada visit from our ex-Prime Minister Kevin Ruddand there is a piece to read on page 3.

NEWS FLASH!By Dave G

Foreign Minister andLocal Member of Parlia-ment, The Hon. KEVINRUDD M.P visited Step-ping Stone Clubhousetoday!

As this Newsletter goesto print, all here at theClubhouse are excited to have been fortunateenough to meet the Hon. Kevin Rudd M.P, ourLocal Member of Parliament and Foreign Min-ister. for the Commonwealth Of Australia..

The Minister and his Electorate Assistant at-tended without any fanfare or media circus,and was casually shown around our Clubhouseby Shane H. who introduced the Minister toMembers and Staff.

We here at the Clubhouse were very im-pressed at the manner in which Mr. Rudd tookhis time to individually speak to members andstaff and it was clearly evident that he wasimpressed by what he saw and those he spoketo.

The Minister even took the time to savoursome of our home made patty cakes, and wasclearly happy to take time to pose with mem-bers and staff for both individual and groupphotographs.

In next month’sNewsletter, therewill be heaps morephoto’s of mem-bers and staff aswell as reporting

on this most auspi-cious occasion.





G’day mates! John, Tania and I arrived backin Brisbane on Sunday 27 th March after threeweeks of Clubhouse training at theIndependence Center, St. Louis, USA. It canbe daunting to go overseas for three weeksbut everyone was so welcoming and friendlythat we felt at home straight away. Itseems the Clubhouse model is so strong thatClubhouses globally reflect the sameattitude that we have here at Stepping

Stone. In particular, what really stood outto me was the sense of community, whichhas become such an important part of mylife and I’m sure the same goes for manyothers involved in Clubhouse worldwide.

Training was intense but really fun! We didlots of reading, attended discussions, spenta lot of time in units and took part invarious social activities. We had some time

on our own when we enjoyed the St.Patrick’s Day parade and saw Chuck Berry(who is 84 years old and still rocking!). St.Louis is also famous for the Gateway Arch,known as “The Gateway to the West”. Itstands 192 m tall and 192 m wide at itsbase… very impressive!

By the end of our training we had learnt somuch and had a great sense of achievementas we presented our Action Plan to the restof our group. The first thing which hit meabout the Independence Center, (or IC asthey like to call it) was the sheer size of theClubhouse- it is absolutely massive! It isthree floors/levels and they have anaverage daily attendance of 250 members.Our average daily attendance is 60members, so you can imagine thedifference! The units are named by floor(whereas at Stepping Stone our units are

named after their function). The unitsallow for diversity. For example, on thelower level they have a video lab and a gym;on Street Level they have a bank, store,orientation, employment and receptionareas; on the upper Level they have thekitchen, copy centre and flower shop.

During our experience at the IC we puttogether three main goals in an Action Plan.

These goals were presented to theClubhouse last week. They were furtherbuilt upon with input from members andstaff in attendance. They are as follows:

Media/PR To set up a video/media centre tobetter communicate withinClubhouse and promote SteppingStone in the broader community.

This goal will be taken on by the CATunit.EducationTo strengthen our SupportedEducation Program at Stepping Stone.This goal will be taken on by the E&Eunit.ExerciseTo compile the results from ourexercise survey and implement anExercise Program to appeal to all.This goal will be taken on by theHousing unit.

If you want to be involved in thedevelopment and implementation of thesegoals, please stop by one of the units andlet us know! Also, if we haven’t seen yousince we got back, come in to Clubhouseand say hello!It’s good to be back!

Training at the Independence Center, St. Louis, USA By Kathryn





I have been coerced into writing anarticle for this publication, though reallyI am so enthusiastic about training that itwasn’t hard to convince me.

First of all, I have to say that SteppingStone Clubhouse is AWESOME!

I recently travelled to St Louis in MissouriUSA, where I was involved in three weeksof training in the Clubhouse model. Thiswas at the Independence Center (IC),which is what they call their Clubhouse(even though they spell centre wrong).This training is like what we give to otherclubhouses who visit us. All that needsto be said really is that the members(and staff) of IC were very friendly and

accommodating (just like us), and Iwould be happy to spend more time intheir clubhouse.

Training was pretty intense as I had a lotof reading to do most nights. My dayswere mostly spent in the lower levelunit, as Independence Center is in athree story building. The lower level

where I spent most of my time, housesthe gym and ‘Video Underground’, whichis the video lab where their news isbroadcast. Although it sounds great tohave a gym in clubhouse, it is not goingto happen here, so don’t get too excited.On the other hand, the ability to filmdocumentaries, mock job interviews,‘Meet & Greet’ role plays, tour training

videos and a myriad of otheropportunities exist if we put together a

video lab. I am really excited about thepossibilities of an audio visual mediacentre. If you are interested and havenot heard about the video working group,come to E&E and see me or Special K.

I travelled with Kathryn (Special K) fromE&E and Tania ($T) from CAT. From mypoint of view, they were a great pair totravel with, as Special K is eager andimpetuous and just great. $T on theother hand is not worried about anythingor anyone, and she’s great too. Togetherwe enjoyed the sites & sounds of St Louis(which is pronounced Saint Lewis). Themembers and staff showed us around andI had a great time.

I would definitely encourage anyone toput their name down to go to training,whether here or overseas. I learnt muchabout the Clubhouse model and lookforward to getting more involved intraining here at Steps.

I would like to thank everyone who wasinvolved in the decision to send me on

training as it was a very valuableexperience.

Training at the Independence Center, St Louis, USA ContinuedBy John K





Interview with RickBy Christian

Rick, I believe you have worked for Clubhouse for a while

now, so when did you start and can you tell us the unityou work in?I started in Aug 2009 and I work in the CAT unit -the bestunit of all! How exactly did you hear about and come to work forClubhouse?I heard about it through the internet when I was working ina disability community organization and Stepping Stoneoffered me an opportunity to develop my interest in mentalhealth care and improving people’s quality of life, so I madethe change to Clubhouse and I haven’t looked back.Rick, what part of Clubhouse do you enjoy the most?I love helping people and seeing a positive change in theirlives above anything. I also love the variety of jobs andpeople I meet during the work ordered day.Do you find there are any parts of working at clubhouse that really challenge you?Yes definitely, I am a quiet person by nature, and still find it challenging at times (althoughincredibly rewarding) to meet lots of new people and having to talk to all different kinds ofpeople from all different walks of life.Do you have any hobbies or sport that you enjoy?

Yes, I do. I like to mountain bike when I find the time and I also enjoy photography, rock

climbing and bouldering.Rock climbing sounds really interesting, what is your most exciting climb?My favorite place to boulder is a little place just outside of Armidale. The boulder field is

huge, like one massive playground for me, with heaps of mentally and physically challengingproblems (climbs) that are heaps of fun. I use to do a road trip there every winter and stay ina caravan.That is so awesome Rick, so if there was a dream climb you could take on and do whatwould it be? Yes there is, well really there are two. The first is called NANGENUKA in Armidale. It involvesa huge dynamic pull off from an insanely thin ledge, no wider than the width of two fifty centpieces, with only friction to push off from with your feet. The way in which you have to move

and twist is an unnatural feeling movement, but it feels awesome when you hit it and latchonto the top hold. The other is called PINCH ME and is also unbelievable.Rick, I hear you are married with children?Yes, I sure amCan you please tell us a little bit about your wife and children?My wife’s name is Rachel and she is just so great to be around and really is my rock. I have aseven yr old son called Tyler… he is into everything and always keen to try something new. Heis a lot of fun! My daughter Adah has just turned one and has begun walking over the last fewmonths. She wants to be on her feet all the time now– it’s quite cute, haha=). We havenumber three (a boy) due in 11 wks.What do you think of married life?Married life is great. It has it challenges of course, however it is enormously rewarding andsatisfying. I wouldn’t have it any other way.





Rick, do you have a favourite movie?Yes, I do, Black Hawk Down . That movie was so intense, and to think that those kind of thingshappen to soldiers in combat.Rick, what is your favourite food?

Tacos with hot (I mean really hot) sauce.Where do you see yourself in 10 years time Rick?I like to think of myself here in Stepping Stone still making a difference helping people.How would you like to be remembered?I would like to be remembered as someone who was dedicated to his family above everythingelse, and also as someone who made a difference for the better in the lives of the people whoI came into contact with.

RBWH Health Expo -

By Prue

On Thursday 7 April, Cheryl, Tom & myself attended aCommunity Resource Expo, hosted by RBWH. Alongsideother community services & groups, we set up a very purpleStepping Stone information stall, complete with images ofthe Clubhouse work ordered day & social recreation activi-ties, brochures, newsletters & resources. All presenters andvisitors to the Expo enjoyed the opportunity to network and

share information over coffee.We gathered resources from the other stalls and met many people who were in-terested in learning more about Stepping Stone, so we happily shared our enthusi-asm for Clubhouse. Aside from having lovely chats, we also attended presenta-tions, including: Primary Care in Mental Health, Indigenous Mental Health, CarePlans, ATAPS and Healthy Lifestyle. I would like to express my hugest thanks to bothCheryl and Tom – who engaged and chatted with so many people, sharing theirgenuine passion for Clubhouse and made a fabulous impression upon so many.

Thanks, Prue





Community Spotlight:Dental Services Under Medicare

By Cheryl

Did you know that you can apply for a Medicare funded dental grant to the value of$4250 through your GP, if you have a chronic disease such as Asthma, depressionand a number of other conditions?

Eligibility • You must have a chronic medical condition and complex care needs. A

chronic medical condition is one that has been or is likely to be present forat least six months. It may include, but is not limited to, conditions such asasthma, cancer, cardiovascular illness, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, mentalillness, musculoskeletal conditions and stroke. If you are unsure, checkwith your GP whether you are entitled to the funded dental grant.

• Under the Medicare chronic disease dental scheme, Medicare benefits areavailable for most services provided by a dentist, dental specialist ordental prosthetist in private dental surgeries. Benefits are not availablewhere services are provided to a person who has been admitted to ahospital.

Process • Check with your GP if you are eligible.• Get a written quote for the work that is needed to be done from your

dentist• Check with your dentist whether they will bulk bill (this is the best way so

you do not have to pay out any money)• Organise appointments with your dentist.

Points you need to know • You will be able to claim up to $4,250 in

Medicare Benefits for eligible dentalservices over two consecutive calendaryears. You must have all the work done intwo years.

• You will be able to receive a further$4,250 in Medicare benefits for dentalservices in a subsequent two-year periodprovided you continue to meet theeligibility criteria.

•

If you want to learn more about this you can also visit the web page -http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/fact%20sheet_dental-patients.





Transitional Employment Interview with John Zyp

Where is your TE located and what is it called?My job is at Jerendine House, Mt. Gravatt.What do you enjoy about your TE?I enjoy outdoor work on Thursdays, so I get tokeep the place free from weeds and mow lawnsand sweep too. I have a sense of usefulness tosee it all looking clean and tidy.How long have you been at your current TE? I have been at my current TE for 2 months.How did you go about applying for your TE? In order to become involved in this work, I talked to Sophie, read the leaflet, putmy name down on the board and then participated in work around the clubhouse.This included lots of physical work like vacuuming, emptying bins, checking toiletrolls, reception work and going to the post office to collect mail. I worked in theCAT unit. Crystal took me out to Jerendine House. We looked up bus timetablesand I went to ARAFMI head office withSharon and filled out employment forms.What are your plans when the TE is finished? After completing this TE, I plan to find a similar job.What would you recommend to members who might be interested in doing thisTE?If you can catch a bus and start at the time that’s best for you, why not give it ago. It’s easier than I thought it would be. There are a lot of friendly andsupportive people at Jerendine. If I had a problem they would help me.

Welcome New Members!!!Stepping Stone Clubhouse would like to welcome the new members who joined us in

November Welcome To Stepping Stone Clubhouse!

We have 10 new members whohave joined us in April, IncludingEsam B, Paul Ross Fletcher, PeterGate, Corey Micheal, Maizey, Mae

Reuben, Cong Thanh Tran.




The Newsletter of Stepping Stone Clubhouse

E & E Unit ReportIt’s been a busy time for E&E this month. We have the Employment Breakfast on 17 th May at the

Riverside Reception Centre in New Farm. We sent out invites to all our TE Employers andprospective Employers. This will be a great opportunity to meet with our employers andprospective employers and to thank them for their support. It happens every 2 years and thebreakfast menu looks amazing.

Kathryn and John have been back from training in the United States for 2 days. They had anamazing time in the 3 weeks they were away and learnt lots about the Independence Centre in StLouis. They brought back new ideas to improve our practice. They also said that we are anawesome clubhouse and are really lucky to be where we are.

Congratulations to everyone who commenced TE’s this month. We have some new TE’s startingin the near future which we are excited about.

Housing Unit ReportHousing Unit has had a very busy month and we have welcomed some new members who have

joined us along with some old members returning to say hi. Our month has been very focused onhousing support which has lead to 2 people moving into new accommodation which we have beenvery excited about and also some major maintenance of the building. In fact the maintenance ofthe building has become a major issue due to the growth of the clubhouse itself. We have had todeal with the issues of phones, electricity upgrade, soap dispensers not working, roof repairsrequired and air conditioner maintenance. We have had great success, with quotes being

submitted for mains cable upgrade and air conditioner annual maintenance.With all that has been going on in housing we have enjoyed some fun activities as well. Someof the team went to Toowoomba Clubhouse to see the site which has been picked for the nextConference in 2012. They got to see the clubhouse in Toowoomba and have lunch with them aswell as see the renovations that are taking place at the clubhouse. They got to see a beautifulsite for the conference and were able to sit in on a meeting discussing the progress of theorganisation of the conference.

We also had the chance to help out the Hospitality unit on Good Deed Friday as a unit to jointhem for their afternoon unit meeting and then assist with all their duties to get the Café andKitchen cleaned so everyone could enjoy the Club Ed meeting. It gave some of our members achance to see what another unit meeting involves as well as gave them a chance to participate indifferent activities than what they have been use to.

We also have had some inspiration from members and staff to organize some new processessuch as Maintenance Trade people sign in and out sheet at the front desk and also general updatesfor “How To Do” book. We have updated our filing system and also started new processes forordering products. The members have been great in providing ideas on how to improve theHousing Unit and it is an exciting time to be working in the Housing Unit which is always busy.

It was also great to have Richard come and join us after finishing his time at his TE job atClough, and Martin soon to start his TE job at RBWH. The team is excited for them both.

It has really been a very busy time in the Housing unit and as much as we never seem to haveenough time in the day to achieve all that needs to be done, we have a good unit that works

together very well and enjoys the excitement of new members joining in with the unit. So if youwould like the chance to join in and be a part of the Housing Unit, you are more than welcome.





Hospitality Unit Report

We would like to start by thanking everyone who has come in over the pastmonth, and helped out in our unit! We would particularly like to thank themembers of the other units who have been coming down on Friday afternoons andhelping us clean up before Club Ed.

We are now gathering menu planning ideas at the house meeting every Tuesday,so if you have any ideas please come along and let us know!

We have noticed a huge increase of people coming into the clubhouse, and anincrease in people coming in and helping us out – and we hope to see more ofeveryone!!

We have been doing lots of awesome meals in our unit, and many of these mealsare available as frozen meals, so come on in and check them out!!

The hospitality unit is currently creating a wish list of items that we would like tobuy. This list includes; cups, knives, plates, blender, knife sharpener, stick blender,tea towels, water pressure hose, commercial toaster, ice machine and water jugs.

We have recently bought a brand new massive rice cooker which provides us withenough rice to serve 40 meals.

One final reminder – If it's your birthday please come in and have some cake and

celebrate with us!

C.A.T. Unit Report

It has been buzzing in CAT lately, with lots of exciting new changes! We would like towelcome back Tania, Kathryn and John who spent 3 weeks training at The Independence Centrein St.Louis. The guys have come back with some great ideas on how to improve our clubhouse,which we are implementing into our work order day.

We are now going to have a media/promotions afternoon every Wednesday at 1.30 pm. This isa fantastic opportunity to get involved in a wide range of new tasks such as multimedia, videoediting, networking, interviews and a whole heap more. Come in and give us your input to shapethe future of Stepping Stone Clubhouse.

It is still business as usual and we have embraced our new unit tasks with much enthusiasm!Our new tasks include: checking the toll account, recording logbook information, payment of

bills, managing Facebook, matching invoices and receipts. Please feel free to pop in and joinour unit. We would love to see you soon!!!





Coorparoo Community GardenBy Sophie

This project is proudly funded by a grant from Brisbane City Council. SteppingStone Clubhouse, in partnership with the Coorparoo Uniting Church, now has acommunity garden.

The garden is situated just up the road from the Clubhouse, where we grow avariety of organic vegetables and fruit.

Every week we attend to the gardens so come join us if you’re interested inlearning or sharing your experience about ORGANIC gardening. Beat the heat bycoming along to Clubhouse any Tuesday or Thursday morning at 9.30 am.

Meet and Greet UpdateBy Nicola

There are changes abreast for the Meet & Greet Team– we’ve been on a hiatus

from hospital visits as a chance to regroup, restructure & refocus on our goals. Asit happens, the colleagues who just returned from ICCD training bought with theman action plan that incorporates the goals of the Meet & Greet Team.

The Clubhouse plan included a focus on promotional activities, media use andspeaking opportunities. An all-new Wednesday afternoon has been developed in theC.A.T. unit to address these aims. Every Wednesday afternoon in C.A.T. Unit we willfocus on managing the website, developing a ’video lab’, Meet & Greet activities,promotional endeavors to foster a network of community contacts (’friends of

Stepping Stone’) and facilitate a speakers bureau. We intend to address these goalsinside the Clubhouse, in the mental health area and in the broader community.

The Meet & Greet Team will now be able to continue it’s fantastic outreach work(in hospitals, at community events, during tours/orientation and during the newmember process) with the support of the of the C.A.T. Unit every Wednesdayafternoon. This gives the Team plenty of time to do all their work & an opportunityto get new people involved.





Jamie H.

Shaun D.

Max W.

Andrew H.

Andrew M.

Ariel E.

Ron C.

Michelle G.

Chris K.

Esam B.

Joseph G.

Metha M.

Vaughan B.

Eric L.

Natasha K.

Luke R.

Mark B.

Chris W.

Georgie H.

Bianca S.

Paul L.

Christopher D.

Jacquie R.

James D.

Thanks to all who have contributed tothe making of this most awesome,extremely wonderful newsletter:Nicola, Rick, Cheryl, Tom, Prue, Brad,Christian, Noel, Michelle, Andrew &

Danny

Apologies if your name has been forgotten!

Don’t forget Stepping Stone has a Facebook pagewww.facebook.com.

Keep connected with all the latest news and events! Sim-ply search Stepping Stone Clubhouse in Facebook and invite

us to be your friend!

Donations to Stepping Stone We would like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their kind donations and ongoing supportof Stepping Stone Clubhouse.

DBM Consultants

May BirthdaysWishing everyone a very

happy birthday fromStepping Stone

Community Information:Free Tax Help

Tax Help is a network of community

volunteers who provide a free andconfidential service to help people completetheir tax returns at tax time. These volunteersare people from within the community whogive up their time each year. They are notAustralian Taxation Office (ATO) staff, butthey receive training and support from theATO.

The following table will help you determineif you are eligible for Tax Help.

Once you have determined that you areeligible for the Tax Help program and want tomake an appointment please phone 13 28 61 .Tax Help is only available July to Octobereach year.

If you want more information you can visit theweb page –http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/9172.htm

If you are … and your taxable income is…

a single person $40,000 or less. married or de

facto $40,000 or less plus $2,500

for each child.

a single parent $40,000 or less plus $2,500for each child.





When did you first come to Clubhouse?December 2010

Where did you live before you came to Step-ping StoneClubhouse?Forest Lake, I was boarding with family

Did Stepping Stone Clubhouse help with yourHousing?I applied to DOH before I came to the clubhouse after being in hospital for 3 weeks. Ihad also worked with 4walls and so my appli-cation was also picked up by them and theydid assist me in finding my current unit. But Iwas also put on the Stepping Stone Clubhousewait list that is sent to 4walls, so everythinghelped.

What are some of the barriers that you

faced in trying to get housing?I felt that it was difficult financially and alsopersonally in just making a decision about liv-ing alone again or staying with family. Livingalone has both positive and negative aspects.I feel Stepping Stone Clubhouse will help sup-port me now that I am in a DOH unit.

Do you find the staff in the housing unithelpful when you applied for housing? If not,what could they do to be more helpful?

Everyone was very helpful. It was nice tohave someone to assist with dealing with deci-sions. They offered me all the support that Ineeded.

How has the application process been foryou?Traumatic, dealing with DOH is not easy buteveryone has the same problems. Every time Iwent to Department of Housing they seemedto want more information. So much paperwork.

Do you have any tips for anyone applying forhousing?Yes always have more paperwork than youneed like support letters from doctors, proofof rent paid, and ID and change of name.

What would your dream house be?Air Conditioned.

What is the best thing about moving intoyour own place?I can eat what I want. Someone else did allthe cooking before.

What do you think the challenges will be inyour new place?Loneliness and keeping busy. I think SteppingStone might be my Life Saver at the moment.

Housing Profile Interview – Cheryl DBy Housing Unit





HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS?Please write your new address below and return with the original label to:

Stepping Stone Clubhouse Inc.PO Box 249Coorparoo Q 4151.

Name: _____________________________________________________________________Address: ___________________________________________________________________

Postcode: ______________ Phone no: _______________________________________

Or if you wish to receive this newsletter via email, please provide your email address:

_________________________________________________________________

If you have enjoyed this newsletter and found it informative, please remember the costs of produc-ing it are quite high. We deliberately do not charge a subscription fee to those on our mailing list.However, all donations to assist with costs would be appreciated.

If you include your name and address when sending a donation you will be issued with a receipt.All donations of $2 or over are tax deductible.

Mail: PO Box 249 Coorparoo Qld 4151Phone: (07) 3847 1058Fax: (07) 3847 1044Email: [email protected]

Website: www.steppingstoneclubhouse.org.au

The views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those ofStepping Stone Clubhouse Inc.

Stepping Stone Clubhouse is funded by:Disability Services Queensland (DSQ)

the Department of Employment, Education & Workplace Relations (DEEWR) andThe Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA).

PostagePaid

Australia

stepping stones clubhouse may 2011

Documents