Ashini, 23, has a busy schedule – in addition to full-time study as a nursing student, she also finds the time to volunteer every Thursday morning at AnglicareSA’s Magdalene Centre.

While Ashini has only been at AnglicareSA for a month, she’s no stranger to volunteering.

“Before I moved to Australia for my studies, I used to volunteer in Sri Lanka,” Ashini said.  

“I truly have a passion for helping people – it’s why I volunteer and want to be a nurse.”

As a volunteer in emergency assistance, Ashini works closely with people in need, helping to provide food, pharmacy vouchers (for prescribed medication), or referrals to other support services such as financial counselling.

She said her experience has been rewarding and taught her some valuable skills.

“I get satisfaction out of being able to work with those experiencing hardship to get them the support they need,” Ashini said.

“Volunteering has improved my communication skills and taught me how to remain calm under pressure and empathise with others. These are skills I can draw on in my future career as a nurse.”

Ashini is calling on more young people to get involved and volunteer.  

“It’s the perfect time to volunteer because you have the energy and capacity to help others,” she said.  

“Think about what you want to get out of volunteering and pick a suitable activity.”

Sonyia Cannon, Emergency Assistance Team Leader at the Magdalene Centre, said that it is encouraging to see young people like Ashini volunteer their time to help others.

“It is inspiring to see the next generation of young people so eager to dedicate their time to help change lives,” Sonyia said.

“Ashini has a willingness to support our community and learn as much as possible to better assist people with the service we provide. 

“She is a pleasure to work with and is respected by all who work with her.” 

At AnglicareSA, we’re proud to have around 300 volunteers who give their time to support people in need. Volunteers are an integral part of our support services — their generosity and commitment enable us to deliver a broad range of services to the South Australian community.

You can register your interest online by clicking here, or view our current volunteer opportunities here.

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating more than 1,400 women who work at AnglicareSA – that’s 75% of our workforce.

This year, the theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’, which AnglicareSA is passionate about. We are dedicated to supporting women of all backgrounds and are strong advocates for standing up to bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

We are proud to have so many inspirational women within our organisation changing lives and making a positive difference in our community.

Meet two of them – Freya Newton from AnglicareSA, and Christie Marrot-Castellat from Believe Housing Australia (AnglicareSA’s housing arm).

Meet the EGM leading AnglicareSA’s IT team

She might be relatively new to the role of Executive General Manager, Technology and Transformation, but Freya has been part of the AnglicareSA team for nearly 30 years.

“I love working in IT at AnglicareSA because of the variety,” Freya said.

“I have enjoyed stepping into the executive role these past six months and getting greater visibility about what is going on across the organisation and how we can make better use of technology to support all our colleagues.”

In her role, Freya provides strategic leadership to improve business processes for our employees so they can better serve our customers.

Freya said just as technology had evolved throughout her 30 years in IT, so too had the female representation in the sector.

“I have experienced gender imbalances in my career as a woman in IT,” she said.

“I was one of very few women doing computer science in my university classes and have often been in a significant minority when attending professional conferences.

“However, I’m proud of AnglicareSA’s gender balance and the extent to which females are represented in our IT teams.”

Freya said International Women’s Day was a good opportunity for everyone to recognise the progress that had been made to accelerate women’s equality over the last century.

“I think it’s easy to take for granted or complain about where we’re at with gender equality,” she said.

“International Women’s Day is a chance to focus our attention on the issue, even if it is just for five minutes or a lunch, and acknowledge how far we’ve come but also how much more we have to achieve.”

The woman opening doors for others

It’s a job that couldn’t be more rewarding for Christie, who came to Believe Housing Australia 14 months ago in search of a job that makes a difference in people’s lives.

Much of Christie’s role as an intensive tenancy support officer involves working with community housing tenants who need support to sustain their tenancies because of the complex needs of the household.

“Complex needs are often trauma-related and may include domestic and family violence, mental health issues, substance abuse, and hoarding behaviours,” Christie said.

Christie organises a range of supports to help each person sustain their tenancy and remain housed.

“We teach people fundamental life skills, organise deep cleans, help them build capacity and find the right referral pathways for them.

“Everyone’s situation is different – I’m a big advocate for finding support services appropriate for each person.”

Christie said navigating the complex needs that some people are experiencing can be challenging, but the end result is worth it.

“Some people are reluctant to let me in or they do not see an issue with how they are living. It is rewarding to be able to see the improvements in living conditions and each tenant’s mental health from the start of our journey to the end.”

Christie said her role in working in partnership with tenants to overcome challenging circumstances is similar to the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to bring awareness to the importance of gender rights and equality in all diversities and talk about it,” she said.

“We have come a long way but there’s more still left to do to forge a more inclusive world for women.

“We need to acknowledge the challenges experienced by all women and advocate for change.”

AnglicareSA Disability and Wellbeing Services’ new Autism Diagnostic Service is meeting a growing need in the early identification of autism spectrum disorder.

As a leader in the provision of therapeutic supports to children and young people with disability in South Australia, AnglicareSA launched the pilot program at the start of 2023, and 12 months on it is being hailed as a success.

Clinical Lead and Diagnostician, Liliana Claassen, said four years ago she and another speech pathologist based at the Daphne Street Autism-Specific Early Learning and Care Centre did some training focused on diagnostic assessments and identified a gap in services available to the community.

“We work in the early childhood learning space and had a lot of experience with children waiting for diagnostic assessment, so we set about establishing a program that would work for AnglicareSA and address our professional needs as well,” she said.

“At the moment in the public system people are waiting around two to three years for that crucial assessment.

“Private providers are a lot quicker to get into but they still have wait lists, so we were to be able to reduce those wait times through our services, get people in as soon as possible, and get that diagnostic outcome and they can then access support services.”

The assessment includes a play-based observation and standardised assessments as well as a parent interview.

Information gathered, results from assessments, and observations are considered against the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition (DSM-V) to determine if the child meets the criteria for diagnosis.

The diagnostic report can be used to support an application for NDIS funding so that the child can receive appropriate supports to help them thrive.

Liliana said during the initial six-month first phase of the pilot seven assessments were completed, with the goal to complete the process from inquiry through to delivery of the assessment within 12 weeks.

“All assessments were achieved ahead of that 12-week target, and we had really positive feedback from customers around quality of services,” she said.

“We also looked at how we could implement this program fully while maintaining our existing workloads and we were able to able to that within fewer hours than we were expecting.”

The program was such a success that an additional therapist was brought on board and a training program developed to build capacity internally to keep the service running.

In 2023, a total of 12 children were diagnosed by AnglicareSA’s trained diagnosticians (speech pathologists) and partnered psychologists.

Feedback from families was overwhelmingly positive in relation to the ease of processes, supports in place, and the sensitive approach.

One parent said: “There is a very real need in the community for this. We waited for more than two years for an assessment, and it was very lucky I ran across this program and was fortunate enough to be accepted.”

AnglicareSA is receiving referrals for assessments in 2024. If you are interested or want further information on the Autism Diagnostic Service, please contact [email protected] or call 1800 953 001.

At AnglicareSA, we’re proud to have a team of hospitality workers who work tirelessly to prepare and cook nearly 2,000 fresh and appetising meals every day for the 600 residents across our six residential aged care sites.

Today on Hospitality Workers Appreciation Day, we celebrate the dedication and passion our hospitality team demonstrates every day.

One team member making a difference in the lives of our residents one meal at a time is Constance Amaechi.

Since joining the Westbourne Park hospitality team more than a year ago, Constance has completed her commercial cookery placement and has been cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

Cooking for older adults has always been a passion for Constance – a passion she hopes will lead her to one day becoming a Head Chef in residential aged care.

“I have always loved everything that has to do with cooking and food. I am in my happy place when I am in the kitchen,” Constance said.

“What attracted me to work here was the opportunity to immerse myself in hospitality and care for older people.

“To be able to give back and make a difference for older people using my love for food and my culinary skills has been rewarding.”

Every day, Constance and the other members of the Westbourne Park hospitality team prepare more than 250 meals for their 90 residents.

Constance said cooking in residential aged care is unlike cooking in a restaurant.

“Cooking in aged care is more focused – you might be catering for people who have a modified diet, requiring extensive changes or additions to a menu. In a restaurant, you might be cooking for a small number of people with a fixed menu that does not allow for variation.

“It is vital that our residents are getting what they need with every dish. Meals must be individualised to ensure that each resident’s meal has the correct texture and taste for them. We respect and cater to their different dietary preferences, requirements, and cultural needs.”

While the menu rotates frequently and dishes come and go, Constance said there was a standout meal that the residents can’t seem to get enough of.

“The residents love the crumbed lamb cutlet served with vegetables and potato bake and always request it.”

Constance said it showed that cooking in aged care was beyond just feeding people – what might seem like a simple meal also has the power to increase a resident’s food intake and enhance their quality of life.