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Carers on the
Downs Newsle er
Message from Team Leader
Volume , Issue
April 2015
There is a lot going on for carers in the Darling Downs region and we invite you
to get involved.
Joyanne is working feverishly on the My Future – My Life project. This
includes transi on planning for High school aged children, to make
plan for their dreams and goals for life beyond school. If you would
like more informa on please call the Toowoomba office.
Cer ficate III in Community Services training is about to commence.
This is available FREE to carers, thanks to funding provided by the
Queensland Government through the Community Learning Fund.
Buy a cket in Carers Queensland’s latest fundraising campaign called
Give-A-Duck. With ckets available from $5 each (discounts given for
the more ckets you buy). Prizes include a Phuket holiday (7 nights), a
MacBook-Air Notebook, and a $500 Wes>ield shopping voucher. For
more informa on visit giveaduck.com.au
Inside this issue:
Message from the Team
Leader
1
“Give a Duck”
2
The Peach
2
Secret Agent Society
2
My Time
3
Delicate Conversa ons
3
New Coles Trollies
3
Cra* for Carers
3
Informa on about
Workshops
4
Calendar of Events
(insert)
A Carers Queensland informa on table at the Toowoomba Plaza,
located in the “airlock” at the entrance between Zaraffa’s and Coles on
March 25th.
Carers Queensland staff are involved in two Mental Health-focussed
therapeu c workshops in Roma during April/May. The two day work
shops are planned for 29/30 April and 20/21 May.
An interagency forum will be held at the Toowoomba City Golf Club in
May. The forum brings together many service providers involved in the
care of older people, people with disability, people with mental illness,
and carers. The purpose of the forum is to share the latest informa on
that is cri cal to providing the best level of care to service users now
and into the future.
With only 15 months remaining un l the roll-out of the Na onal Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS), everyone is star ng to think about op ons that may
be possible for life under the NDIS. If you have not been able to get to one of
the travelling NDIS informa on workshops ask me if you have a ques on or call
the Carer Advisory Service on 1800 242 636.
Peter Kinson
Page 2
Carers on the
Downs NewsleKer
“Give A Duck”
Meet Quackley.
Quackley the duck is spear-heading our
latest fundraising campaign – the Carers
Queensland ‘Give a Duck’ online duck race.
Taking place on 28 May 2015, we will be
running an online duck race that will
see Quackley and thousands of other ducks
baKle it out to raise funds for Carers
Queensland.
What are the prizes?
Quackley
First prize – Holiday for two to Phuket
(includes return airfares Brisbane to Phuket; flying with Singapore Airlines; 7 nights’
accommoda(on at a 4 star resort;
including breakfast daily; Phang Na Bay
tour including James Bond Island.)
Second prize – A MacBook Air Notebook
Third prize - $500 Wes>ield voucher
How does the compe00on work?
Each cket number will be allocated to a
virtual duck, which will par cipate in the
online race. The winning ducks (or cket
numbers) will be drawn at random.
How much are 0ckets and where are they
available from?
Tickets are on sale from 16 March to 21
May, and can be bought online (we’ve set
up a special website
www.giveaduck.com.au)
via the CAS line (1800 242 636)
or in person at local Carers Queensland
offices.
Cool Holiday Quackley
Cost:
1 cket - $5
5 ckets - $20
20 ckets - $80
100 ckets - $300
The Peach
(Paren0ng, Ea0ng and Ac0vity for Child
Health)
Free program available for families and
children struggling with weight/health
issues
Medical professionals in Toowoomba and
Roma can refer families to a governmentfunded program that helps parents/carers
who are struggling to maintain a healthy
weight in their children.
The PEACH™ (Paren ng, Ea ng and Ac vity
for Child Health) program is available free
to families with a child 5-11 years who is
above a healthy weight for their age - body
mass index (BMI) greater than the 85th percen le for their age and gender. It is a 6
month program consis ng of 10 sessions in
total.
Topics covered include: nutri on skills,
rela onships with food and ea ng,
changing family lifestyle behaviours,
making healthy ea ng affordable and
overcoming resistance.
Visit www.peachqld.com.au for more
informa on and to refer a family who could
benefit.
Secret Agent Society
Thanks to Commonwealth Respite Care
Services kind dona on we have several
Secret Agent Society (SAS) Computer game
packs on loan through our library.
Research suggests that children o*en need
prompts and guidance to apply skills taught
in computer programs to real-life situaons. This pack includes a variety of
resources that not only help children use
skills from the SAS game in their everyday
lives, but also promote the development of
addi onal skills.
The program was ini ally created to
improve the emo onal understanding and
social skills of 8-12 yr old children with
High-func oning Au sm or Aspergers.
If you are interested in borrowing this SAS
pack or would like more informa on please
contact Cindy at the office by phoning
4635 8379
Page 3
From the Counsellors Desk
My Time
MyTime Toowoomba, suppor ng parents
of children with disabili es.
Come and join MyTime and get “you” me
back.
Do you have a child with a disability,
developmental delay or chronic medical
condi on? Would you like to meet other
parents or carers in similar circumstances?
Would you like to socialise, have fun and
relax while your child and their siblings are
engaged in ac vi es with a Play Helper?
Do you want to find out about available
community support services that you can
access? If your answer is YES to these quesons then MyTime is for you.
Doing Difficult Conversa ons
When you’re caring for someone and they need
something you know is best for them, but they
don’t want it and refuse to par cipate, it can be
difficult. Some mes it’s necessary to have that
conversa on; you know the one you dread
having, because you know they will fight you on
every step. We want so much to avoid the issue,
but you know that it will only make things work
if you do.
It’s human nature to want to be heard; to have
our fears soothed and to retain control. These
ps may help:
MyTime is a FREE service that is open and
inclusive to parents and carers that fit the
men oned criteria.
When: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month
(except school holidays)
Where: Dr Price Rooms, 6 LiKle St,
Toowoomba
Time: 9.30am
Morning Tea is provided
For more informa on please contact:
Elizabeth Laverty
Mobile: 0407 356 874
Email: lizlav@bigpond.net.au
Cra9 for Carers
In collabora on with the Mental Wellness and
Support Centre DSN, Carers Queensland are
running a Cra*ing for Carers support group. It
will be held every Thursday morning at the
Mental Wellness and Support Centre DSN in
Bell Street, across the road from Centrelink.
Meet at the centre from 9:30am-12:00.
Bring your own cra* to work on, share your
cra* skills or be involved in producing cra*
items for sale to raise funds to support the Volunteer’s at the Mental Wellness and Support
Centre.
Contact the Carers Queensland Office on
46358379 for more informa on.
Listen to any concerns, no maKer how
silly they seem. They o*en mask the
deepest fears.
Avoid blame and using phrases such as
“you have to” or “you’re making it
worse”.
Reflect the content of the comments
you hear. Hearing your own comments
repeated back to you lets you know
that your message is being heard.
Rather than repea ng phrases like a
parrot, try finding a different way to
say it. O*en a summary works well.
Stay calm, even in the face of anger.
This o*en masks fear and anxiety.
Difficult conversa0ons can be hard. If
you’re uncertain about how to approach things, I am happy to offer guidance and help to prac ce.
New Trollies at Coles
George and Katey Jerome at
Young Carer TOE group.
“ Photo’s from
Young Carer
groups.”
Jack, Hayley and George at
Young Carer Holiday ac%vi%es.
New specially-designed supermarket trolley
means local residents who have children
with a disability can now shop at Coles with
greater convenience and support.
Coles opera ons and supply chain director
Andy Coleman said he hoped the trolley
would help make shopping easier for
parents or carers who have a child with a
disability. The trolley allows for a child of up
to 70 kilograms in weight and has padding
on the sides, a harness and addi onal
support in its structure. Coles will provide
the addi onal needs trolley to any stores
who request one on behalf of their
customers.
Picture of New Coles trolley
Page 4
Carers on the
Downs NewsleKer
Informa0on about Workshops
Date & Town
Contact details
Coffee, Tea or whatever
your heart fancies...
10am
Venue: Joie de Vivre
King st, Warwick
Ken Smith
Email: kensmithinoz@hotmail.com
17 April
Free Dementia information course for family
carers.
9.30-2.30pm
Morning tea and lunch
provided
Venue: TBA
10 – 2pm
Venue: Paul Myatt
Community centre
11-15 Alexandra St.
Phone 1800 100 500
Email:
qld.registrations@alzhei
mers.org.au
Ph: 1800 777 723
Email:
info@parent2parentqld.
org.au
9.30-12pm
Venue:TBA
Morning Tea provided
Ph: 4635 8379
Email:
cmears@carersqld.asn.au
Details to be confirmed
Carers Qld, Roma office
Ph: 4622 1270
Pittsworth Health and
Wellbeing Expo
9 – 3pm
Venue: Pittsworth Town
Hall
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
(ASIST)
Venue: Chinchilla community connexions function room
67-71 Middle St
Venue: Chinchilla community connexions function room
67-71 Middle St
Details to be confirmed
Come along and talk to
Service Providers about
services available in your
area.
Ph: 0428 983 011
Email:
dsmith@partnersinrecove
ry.net.au
Ph: 0428 983 011
Email:
dsmith@partnersinrecove
ry.net.au
Carers Qld, Roma office
Ph: 4622 1270
CARERS QUEENSLAND
Head Office
24 April
15 AbboK St Camp Hill QLD 4152
P.O. Box 179 Holland Park QLD 4121
8.30am – 5pm M-F
Ph: 3900 8100
Carer Advisory Service: 1800 242 636
Toowoomba
(free call except from mobiles)
29 April
Toowoomba
Carers Queensland Inc. ABN: 20 061 257 725
29 & 30 April
CARERS QUEENSLAND
Darling Downs Office
907 Ruthven St
Toowoomba QLD 4350
P.O. Box 7011
Toowoomba South QLD 4350
8.30am – 5pm M-F
Ph: 4635 8379
Time & Venue
Every Thursday
Warwick
Toowoomba
www.carersqld.asn.au
www.qld.carersaustralia.com.au
Workshop name
Sharing the vision
Workshop
Free workshop for parents and carers aged
over 60 or over 45 if
Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander.
Carer Conversation
Feedback workshop
with CEO and Board
directors of Carers
Queensland
Mental Health
Workshop
Roma
30 April
Pittsworth
30 April- 1
May
Chinchilla
2 May – 3 May
Chinchilla
20 & 21 May
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
(ASIST)
Mental Health
Workshop
Roma
29 May
Toowoomba
19 June
Toowoomba,
Dalby,
Warwick and
Kingaroy
Information Session
Qld Institute Medical
Research
10 - 2pm
Venue: TBA
Ph: 4635 8379
Email:
cmears@carersqld.asn.au
2015 Autism/Aspergers
Workshop.
Dr Tony Attwood and
Dr Michelle Garnett
Assisting Families.
Mental health training
program for carers of
people living with mental illness.
TBA
To register or for more
info go to:
www.suelarkey.com
TBA
To register of for more
info please call MIFQ
4699 8959
Please remember to contact the organisa on conduc ng the workshop if you wish to
register or for further informa on.