As a special needs educator, Catherine knew she had so much to offer a child and, in 2016 with the support of AnglicareSA, she didn’t just become a foster carer – she became mum.
Catherine came to Australia from the UK in 2011 on a Commonwealth Teacher Exchange, joining the Kilkenny Primary School and working with the two special education classes on campus.
Immediately feeling right at home in Australia, she settled, and thoughts turned to new chapters of her life.
“I never got around to having kids and I was thinking about how I could make a difference to just one child,” Catherine said.
“I thought one would be best,” she added with a laugh. “Otherwise, I would probably end up like the Old Lady Who Lived in the Shoe kind of thing with lots of kids.”
Being single and working full-time Catherine felt, to begin with at least, that being a permanent foster carer might not be practical and signed up to offer respite care.
“So, I did disability respite for a little while just to see how it went and it wasn’t long until I was ready to take the plunge,” she said. “Because I’m an educator with a special needs background, I decided to combine the two.
“And when I was ready, I wanted to start with a baby because to me, the longer they’re with me, the more I thought I could support someone.”
In 2016 she became foster mum to a six-month-old baby boy with developmental delays who she knew could thrive with her support.
Despite the challenges and “tricky moments”, Catherine said she didn’t regret a single thing and even though it took some changes and adaptations to her life, she knew that would be the case heading into it.
“I think it’s definitely worth doing if you’re in a position to do that, because there’s plenty of kids who need that home environment and someone who can advocate and get the interventions early.”
With ongoing support from the AnglicareSA Foster Care team, Catherine is now working towards being recognised as a specialist carer to continue to support the growth and development of her foster son, now aged 8.
She has also helped him to understand that he has two families – birth parents and siblings elsewhere – while Catherine is his everyday mum who is always there.
“He calls it ‘this family and that family’, and he know he is part of both and is trying to incorporate the two.
“As he has gotten older and he has engaged with the interventions and supports, I have seen how he now understand concepts better and he comes up with questions or details you weren’t expecting.
“It’s really quite nice and the way he sees our family unit at home – it’s just lovely.”
AnglicareSA is South Australia’s largest foster care provider, if you are interested in find out more about becoming a carer, please visit anglicaresa.com.au/foster-care/
Leading the way with dementia care research
AnglicareSA’s Trott Park and Elizabeth East Residential Aged Care sites have joined with the University of South Australia in a research project focusing on dementia care.
Titled Critical Dementia Pathways: Transforming Dementia Care, the UniSA project is being conducted in collaboration with the Rosemary Bryant AP Research Centre and has resulted in the development of a dedicated Dementia Care Teams.
The teams – consisting of employees, including management, clinical, and care staff – ensure a comprehensive and holistic approach to dementia care and has been educated on the principles of Dementia Care Pathways.
The program pathways have been integrated into high-risk meetings, where identified risks are appropriately triaged and referred to specialists as required, allowing for early intervention and targeted support to minimise the potential for inappropriate administration of psychotropic medications.
The goal is to improve the quality of life for residents living with dementia through promoting their wellbeing.
Graydn Spinks, Executive General Manager, Aged Care Services, said the Dementia Care Teams are highly motivated and committed to this research project.
“They are proud of the work accomplished so far and are enthusiastic about the positive changes they have observed,” Graydn said.
“The research project is progressing well, and UniSA anticipates finalising it by the end of this year and everyone is excited about the potential impact of the project and the anticipated positive outcomes on resident care.”
Publication of the research project is provisionally scheduled for January 2024.
Taking his recovery into his own hands
When a stroke on the first day of February this year threatened to rob Garry of his independence and mobility, he knew the success of his recovery was in his hands.
Garry chose to fully commit to his rehabilitation program, smashing the goals set as part of AnglicareSA’s Transition Care Program (TCP).
Now Garry is back on his feet and regaining his freedom.
“When I had the stroke, it was devastating,” Garry says of the medical emergency that landed him in the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
“When I first went to emergency I could still walk and use my arms. They admitted me to the RAH and the doctor asked me to show them how I could walk, I got up and the next moment I did a somersault into the corner of the room.
“My left leg and left arm were paralysed – the stroke was still happening.”
With the left side of his face drooping, unable to speak, and difficulty swallowing– Garry needed immediate treatment to break down the clot in his brain.
This treatment was followed the next vital stage of his recovery – rehabilitation.
He knew the harder he worked at rehabilitation, the greater the chance of regaining his independence.
“When I first got to Hampstead (Rehabilitation Centre), they said it was up to me – either I could let it beat me or I could get stuck into my physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
“So, I went ballistic with my rehab and left there in record time.”
“Your body is remarkable. It finds new pathways to send those signals to get your hand and leg working again, all those functions.“
Once back at home, Garry was referred by his medical team into AnglicareSA’s Transition Care Program, a 12-week in-home restorative care program delivered at a slower pace than rehabilitation in a hospital and based on goals set by the customer.
AnglicareSA staff interpret those goals into therapy with physical and other supports like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and care workers to help customers with exercises and recovery in the home.
“Your body is remarkable,” Garry says reflecting on the recovery he has already made and continues to make. “It finds new pathways to send those signals to get your hand and leg working again, all those functions.
“I had physiotherapy and occupational therapy with the whole program structured around balance and mobility.
“I reached all my goals, and while I don’t quite have the same strength it is improving, and I have function of my hand, arm, and leg.”
Garry is full of praise for the Transition Care Program and his therapists Alice (occupational therapy) and Kate (physiotherapy), as well as allied health assistant Chelsea, crediting TCP, and the fact it is delivered in his home, for enabling him to be in the position he is today.
“I had someone here every couple of days and it’s such a great package. They also came and did some cleaning for me and provided more intensive supports when I first came home – even shopping.
“My coordinator Hannah should get a gold star,” Garry beams. “She was fantastic, she kept in contact with me and kept me up to date on the day-to-day stuff. She made me aware of everything that was happening and checked on my progress.
“I tell you, if I had a business today, I’d employ her and make her the manager.”
After such a strong recovery, Garry, who is a plumber by trade, is now working toward his next goal – regaining his driver’s license and getting back to being fully independent.
“When you have a stroke, they suspend your license, which is fair enough,” he adds with a grin. “But my license is my independence and I want to be completely mobile again and get back to doing the small handyman jobs so I can supplement my pension.”
Essential workers hit hard by rental crisis, latest research shows
Today, Anglicare Australia released a new Rental Affordability Snapshot focussed on essential workers in full-time work. The outlook for South Australian workers is bleak, with less than seven per cent of rentals affordable to any category of full-time employed essential workers.
For those essential workers wanting to live in Adelaide’s south, west, or northern suburbs, the situation is dire, with zero to two per cent of available properties considered affordable.
The Snapshot surveyed 1,839 private rental listings across South Australia, finding that:
· 36 rentals (2%) were affordable for an aged care worker
· 55 rentals (3%) were affordable for nurses
· 29 rentals (2%) were affordable for hospitality workers
· 129 rentals (7%) were affordable for school teachers
Believe Housing Australia’s Executive General Manager, Stacey Northover, said low vacancy rates and rising rents affected everyone, and South Australians were finding themselves in housing stress and even homeless for the first time.
“We know the situation is dreadful for those on the lowest incomes, but this survey demonstrates that the housing system is also failing those on middle incomes, including those in full-time work,” she said.
“The very people who looked after us during COVID – nurses and care workers – are the ones who now can’t afford to put a roof over their heads. We must do better.
“A shortage of social and affordable housing means they are competing in the same private rental market as people on higher incomes and, as the Snapshot shows, don’t stand much of a chance of finding a secure, affordable rental that meets their needs.
“Even if people on a low or middle income are able to secure a rental, it often means making difficult choices between essential items, often going without food, heating or other basics to meet rising rents.”
The Snapshot revealed that the Adelaide Central and Hills area had the highest number of properties affordable to essential workers – 611 compared to 245 in Adelaide’s west, 311 in Adelaide’s south, and 329 in Adelaide’s north – but even then, affordability rates sat at two per cent or less.
Ms Northover said housing supply is what is needed, and the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) needs to pass through the senate to get this started.
“The HAFF may not be perfect but it’s a start, and the conversation will certainly continue until we provide enough homes for people.
“We, like many other proven housing providers, have shovel-ready projects for the release of the Housing Australia Future Fund.
“We need to make sure that properties that are built as affordable rent properties always remain for people who need it.
“Build to rent is an option often promoted but they do not stay as affordable homes in perpetuity. They are affordable for a period of time, and then the owner can sell them, and they are lost from the affordable rental market in the future.
“Community Housing Providers, like Believe Housing Australia, have the commitment to keep these as affordable properties as this is very much part of our purpose.
“We look forward to working with local, state, and federal governments to find and action solutions to end the housing crisis.
“I strongly believe everyone should have access to an affordable, safe, and secure home as a basic human right.”
When Shyanne looks back on her 18 years of life living in state care, she beams with a smile and talks excitedly about the future knowing the road ahead is hers to shape.
With the support of AnglicareSA, which came into her life in recent years, Shyanne has recently moved into a brand-new apartment and is enjoying a flourishing career in event management.
“I look back at my life a year ago to now, or five years ago until now, and no way would I think I could be here,” Shyanne says. “I wouldn’t think I’d be working yet and now I’ve already been promoted and I’m looking at getting team leadership contracts.
“I am working for a company that does expos, conventions, and festivals around Adelaide, so I’ve worked on things like Illuminate and the Adelaide 500, plus I’m always at the Showground, the Convention Centre, tennis, and cricket.
“It is the best thing I could have ever done. It’s a company that I didn’t know about. I mean I had no clue this is something you could do and it’s fantastic – I love this job so much.”
It’s a big shift away from her start to life when, along with her twin brother, Shyanne was placed into foster care at five months of age. This was the beginning of a long journey of placement breakdowns, frequent house moves, and fractured family relationships.
They stayed with their foster mum until they were 12 and, despite the placement breakdown, Shyanne still calls her mum and maintains a close relationship.
“My brother and I did the maths one day because we were together most of the time,” Shyanne recalls. “I think, before we stopped living together because it just wasn’t working anymore, we did about 20 different placements including biological sisters and residential care.”
Shyanne was referred to AnglicareSA’s Launch 180 program – a service for young people aged 16 to 18 under the Guardianship of the Minister which provides 24/7 support in independent accommodation.
It was here she found a connection with her support workers, in particular Danni and Shane.
“It was just a constant of someone being there. Someone knowing what’s going on because most of the time I would just talk to them about the everyday things I was doing,” Shyanne says.
“I could ask Danni, who is a mum herself, anything and she’d have the answer to it. A lot of kids don’t have any kind of parent, but I still have my foster mum plus Danni who was great for that kind of stuff – the questions that you think mum would know.”
Also learning essential life skills including budgeting and how to keep a clean home, it set Shyanne up for the next stage of her life as she neared 18 and faced the need to find permanent accommodation.
In South Australia, from the age of 18, young people leaving out-of-home care independently will often exit the child protection system into adulthood without the emotional and financial support of family and state.
The Post Care Pathways (PCP) program, run by AnglicareSA and Believe Housing Australia, provides subsidised housing through self-contained, one-bedroom apartments in Adelaide’s inner south-west for young people leaving care from age 18 to 25.
“I thought I’d just private rent and find something else and then obviously I couldn’t because there’s a housing crisis and I can’t afford a private rental.
“And then they offered me a place through PCP back in February, and it was amazing.
“It’s close to the city, close to my mum, close to my work, there’s shopping, coffee, and food – everything really.”
Such was the personal growth in Shyanne in recent years, she proved to be a model tenant at PCP, keeping her unit clean and tidy and continuing to develop as a working young adult.
It meant when an apartment through an $11 million Believe Housing Australia social and affordable housing development became available in July, AnglicareSA helped her secure the rental, set up utilities at her new home, helped her move in, and to this day remains in touch.
Shyanne has nothing but praise for the support she has been given, knowing that anything is possible for her now as she acknowledges her past while taking full control of her future.
“I know, as someone who’s in the system, it’s hard to want to do stuff with departments because there’s often a lot of traumas. You say ‘no, I want nothing to do with them’.
“But I think this is something that kids in care should reach out for, or at least know about, because I didn’t know about it until someone brought it up with me.”
Post Care Services Supervisor, Ida Mandelos, says Shyanne’s journey has had its share of ups and downs, but every step brought her growth and awesome achievements.
“It’s rewarding to see our young people succeed, smile, and be hopeful for what’s ahead,” she says. “Hearing Shyanne talk so fondly about our team and the staff support makes me incredibly proud. This is just the start for her and all the other young people we get to work with.”
Growing up is a challenge for everyone, but increasingly it is more difficult for young South Australians leaving care
AnglicareSA Executive General Manager of Community Services Nancy Penna
AnglicareSA Executive General Manager of Community Services Nancy Penna says the PCP program has so far provided 23 young people leaving care immediate access to housing that is safe, affordable, and appropriate during challenging economic and social times.
“The aim of the PCP program is to also provide individual support focussed on health, well-being, life skills, engagement in education, employment, and social inclusion to help guide those first, vital and formative steps into adulthood,” she says.
Ms Penna says some of the program’s young tenants, like Shyanne, have transitioned into private rental and social housing and almost all supported by the program are engaged in education and training or are employed.
“Growing up is a challenge for everyone, but increasingly it is more difficult for young South Australians leaving care,” Ms Penna says.
“Without the same family support networks, our young care leavers are more vulnerable to ending up in crisis, including homelessness, as they enter adulthood alone,” she says.
