Far North
Newsletter
Volume
Team Leader Talk
January—March 2015
Hello everyone
Country Callback for
Regional Queensland:
UnitingCare
Community
has
launched a new service to help
Queenslanders
affected
by
drought and hardship.
The Country Callback Service is a
free, confidential and independent 24 hour advice, referral and
counselling service for anyone
living in rural Queensland.
Contact the Country Callback Line
on 1800 54 33 54
Inside this issue:
From the Counsellor’s
Desk….
2
Preparing for NDIS
Workshops
2
Introducing Tara Beal
—My Future My Life
3
Better Start Briefings
3
Vick’s Notes About the
Cald Program
4
Carers Support Groups &
Workplace Giving
4
Snaps from Carers Week
5
Carer Contributions and
6&7
Message from Michelle
Events Calendar
As I write we nearly at the end of the
first month of 2015 which is hard to
believe! I hope that 2015 will bring
good things to you all!
Once again a lot has happened since
our last newsletter:
Carers Week 2014 was an exciting
week with a morning tea, luncheon
and breakfast held over the week.
Two of the highlights during the week
were the announcement of the local
winners of the 2014 Carer Friendly
Business Awards at the luncheon and
readings by two of our talented local
carers, Janice Shoesmith and Sally
McDonald at the breakfast. Carers
Christmas functions were held
throughout December in Cairns,
Cooktown, Innisfail, Mareeba and
Atherton. We were pleased to be able
to celebrate the festive season with
carers throughout the region. It was
also a great opportunity to introduce
ourselves to some of you for the first
time.
We have also welcomed a new
member of the team: Tara Beal joined
us as Family Carer Support Officer –
My Future My Life. You can read
more about Tara and My Future My
Life on page three.
The Cairns office team has also been
doing lots of planning about how we
can better support the carers of FNQ
and look forward to sharing our ideas
with you in the near future.
One new initiative is to provide our
counselling service from a location in
Mareeba once per month. The aim
of this service is to make it easier
for carers in Mareeba and the Tablelands to see our counsellor, John,
face to face. More information is
attached to this newsletter.
Another very exciting opportunity for
local carers is the opportunity to
undertake accredited training in
Community Services Work with
Carers Queensland. This training will
be offered in Cairns and Innisfail.
Further information is attached.
Carer Support Groups will shortly be
starting for 2015 – the yearly
calendar for these meetings will be
out soon for Atherton, Cooktown,
Innisfail, Mareeba and North Cairns
groups. At this time, due to low
numbers of participants, the Innisfail
group will not be recommencing in
2015. We thank the group members
that continued to support this group
long after their caring roles finished!
Lastly, we will shortly start planning
for Carers Week 2015 and we would
like to involve carers in this process.
If you have any ideas about how to
celebrate Carers Week 2015 or
would like to be involved in planning
and preparing for this important
event please get in touch with
Michelle or I.
As always, please remember that we
are here to support you in your caring role – so please do not hesitate to
give us a call.
Best wishes, Lynda
8
Page 2
Preparing for NDIS
The Queensland Government is funding 9
agencies throughout Queensland to help
families and people with disabilities to prepare for the National Disability Insurance
Scheme (NDIS).
There are two events coming to Cairns in the
near future:
Recording the Vision Workshops:
Hosted by: Parent 2 Parent Queensland
Recording the vision is the second in
a series of three workshops for parents and
carers over 60 or if Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander aged over 45. They will be
held on:
3 February 2015
9.00am—1.00pm
Atherton Motel Conference Room
102 Maunds Road, Atherton
7 February 2015
9.00am—1.00pm
Statford Library Meeting Room
11 Kamerunga Road, Stratford
Freecall 1800 777 723
Or email:
[email protected]
Ready To Go: PLAN AHEAD Workshop
Hosted by: Queenslanders with Disability
Network
For Queenslanders with intellectual
or learning disability.

A fun and free workshop
followed by lunch

2 x half day workshop over
two weeks

Learn about NDIS and what
it means for you.
Tuesday 24 & Tuesday 31
March 2015
To Register Phone 3252 8566
or 1300 363 783
VENUE:
ARC Disability Services
92 Little Street
North Cairns
Far North
From the Counsellor’s Desk…..
Making the decision to move a loved
one into a residential facility (nursing
home)
Moving a loved one into professional full
time care provided by a residential
facility is by all accounts one of the
hardest decisions that a spouse may
face. Unless you have been in those
shoes it would be hard to grasp what it
would be like to make the decision that
the person you have shared much of
your life with needs full time professional care.
Guilt and shame are the two big
problems that a spouse often wrestles
with when making such a big decision. Is
this the right time? Should I /Could I still
provide the care? What will people
think? What will the family say?
What makes it such a difficult decision is
that there are no absolute guidelines on
what to do, or when. There is no test a
doctor can do and say “it is time”.
People have to make a decision that is
very emotional, and this just makes it a
very hard decision. Talking to friends
and family can help, but sometimes it
doesn’t because everyone you speak to
will have their own views. However, no
one is standing in your shoes, so no one
can know what it’s like for you. This is
the perfect time to speak to someone
outside of your life, someone who is totally independent; a counsellor for
instance.
When I work with people who are facing
the need for residential care for a loved
one at some point in the future, I ask
them where they would draw the ‘line in
the sand’. Would it be if the person they
care for becomes bed bound? Would it
be if the person they care for becomes
incontinent and needs to be showered
more than once a day? Would it be if
the person no longer recognises
them (in the case of dementia)? It
helps to be clear about what you
think your ‘line in the sand’ would
be, because once you get there you
may find your resolve is not so
strong, or quite so clear.
This is where the guilt feelings start
to kick in. Sometimes the feelings of
guilt can be very powerful and this
can lead to people changing their
minds. Feelings of guilt lead to
people making the wrong decision,
or putting off the decision past when
the time is right. I tell people that
feelings of guilt don’t mean it isn’t
the right time, guilt is just the price
of love and care. Rather than feeling
guilty it is better to consider where
the loved one will best get their care
needs met?
If you are struggling with this
decision or know that you might at
some point in the future, don’t try
and figure it out alone. Speak with
friends and family, by all means, but
at some point consider speaking with
someone independent, so you make
up your own mind.
John is available Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday.
Call the office on 4031 0163 and
make an appointment.
John Bal - Counsellor
Page 3
Introducing Tara Beal—My Future My Life
Hello everyone. My name is Tara Beal
and I am the new Family Carer Support
Officer – for the My Future My Life
Program. I joined the Carers Queensland
team on 2 December last year. I can tell
you it was a wonderful time to join. I got
to meet people in our organization
through all the Christmas break up
lunches and get togethers such as the
Walk and Talk Group, the Staff Christmas
Party and when I went to Brisbane for
my induction, there was a going away
party that I was able to attend. It was a
great way to get to know everyone in a
relaxed environment and there was so
much food! I’m sure I gained a few kilos!
A little bit about me. I have been a
Disability Support Worker for almost five
years now. I am still supporting people
with disabilities in a one-on-one
environment in their homes and the
community. I can honestly say I love my
job. My mother is also a Disability Support Worker and has been for the last 19
years, so I have been a part of the disability community since I was nine years
old.
Better Start Briefings...
Yet another year has passed, goodbye
to 2014 and hello to 2015. The last
three months has been a very busy and
exciting three months for the Better
Start Initiative program. The program
has taken me out and about into the
Townsville, Wujal Wujal, Cooktown,
Northern Peninsula Area and Thursday
Island regions, touching base and rebuilding networks with many clients,
potential clients and organizations.
A ‘Better Start Moving Forward’ workshop was conducted at New Mapoon
on Wednesday 12 November 2014 and
Thursday Island on Thursday 13 November 2014. Michelle O’Sullivan – Better
Start Initiative State Program Coordinator, Kylie Harms from CPL Cairns
My Role at Carers Queensland: The
My Future My Life Program is a
Transition
Preparation Support
Program for secondary school
students with disabilities and their
families to progress their thinking about life after school. Carers
Queensland is being funded by
Centacare to provide this program in
Far North Queensland.
Students and their families will be
supported to develop their vision for
a meaningful and inclusive young
adult life at school and after school
through conversations about their
future and undertaking a person
centred planning process.
I am very excited to be a part of this
program, a part of the Cairns team
and a part of the Carers Queensland
Australia organisation.
If you would like more information
about My Future My Life please contact me on ph 4031 0163 or by email:
[email protected] . I am available each Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tara Beal
My Future My Life
Tara Beal
Family Carer Support Officer
My Future My Life Program
and Barry from Queensland Aged &
Disability Advocacy (QADA) also
attended making it quite a worthwhile trip.
Carers QLD hosted an event for the
wider community and organizations
at New Mapoon on Tuesday 11 November and at Thursday Island on
Friday 14 November, providing information about the various services
that our organizations offer. There
was phenomenal interest received
from both service providers and individuals at New Mapoon and Thursday Island. We hope to make this an
annual event to improve our working
partnerships and keeping our far
north communities informed.
The next three months I am keen
to meet and greet with local
organisations and individuals in
the Cairns and Hinterland region.
A ‘Better Start Moving Forward’
workshop is scheduled for 25
March 2015 at Atherton. Any families who has a child with a disability nearing seven and/or entering
the school system in 2016 are encouraged to attend. If you are
interested please contact the
Cairns Office on 4031 0163.
Robyne Bowie
RIS Advisor - Better Start
Program, Family Carer
Support Officer
Page 4
Far North
Vick’s note about the CALD Program
Hello everyone!
It has been a few (wonderful) months
since I joined Carers Queensland
Cairns Office. I have been really
enjoying my new role as Family Carer
Support Officer - CALD Program. The
part I love the most about my role is
engaging and working with elderly
people from diverse cultural backgrounds. I feel glad to be making a
difference in the lives of frail or elderly
people by providing them with the
required basic support through Home
and Community Care (HACC) services.
This enables them to stay in their
homes and live independently as much
as possible – this is very rewarding.
Work Place Giving
Show your support for carers
Are you currently working?
Would you be willing to donate $5 per pay period – or
the cost of a cup of coffee - to
Carers Queensland? Carers
Queensland is currently seeking donations through its
Workplace Giving Program.
Donating via Workplace Giving
is easy. Just nominate Carers
Queensland as your chosen
charity through your employer’s payroll system and a small
amount of money will be deducted each pay period.
(Donations of $2 and over are
tax deductable). Just visit the
Carers Queensland website to
find out how to donate.
The other interesting thing about the
CALD Program is that it also includes
younger people (under the age of 65)
with disabilities or any significant
medical condition who are in need of
HACC services.
The aim of the CALD Program is
to conduct culturally appropriate
assessments for HACC eligibility and
to identify individual needs of the
clients as well as of their carers, and
to arrange appropriate community
services to meet their identified
needs.
The CALD Program offers an alternative entry into HACC services for
people who identify as being culturally and/or linguistically diverse.
There is no waiting list for assessment and all the care plans are
monitored and reviewed regularly
and re-assessments completed as
often as necessary.
Making a referral to us is very easy either you can ask your GP for HACC
services or contact us directly at (07)
4031 0163.
Vick Bhardwaj
CALD Family Carer Support Officer
Carers Support Groups
What are Carer Support Groups:
Carer Support Groups aim to support
carers in a number of ways:

Providing an opportunity to talk
with other carers who understand the caring role.

By carers sharing information
and tips.

Providing a venue to hear guest
speakers and receive updates.

Give carers some ‘time out’
from their caring role.

Provide an opportunity for
social contact and fun!
Who are they for:
Carer Support Groups are open to anyone who is currently, or has recently
been, caring for a family member,
friend or neighbour.
The groups are intended to be a safe
place where carers feel comfortable to
share their caring experiences. For
this reason, we would ask that people
receiving care do not come along to
the groups. If respite care is needed
to assist a carer to attend a meeting,
we can assist you in arranging this.
Page 5
Far North
Carers Week Events
Carers Week Cake
at Wuchopperen
Morning tea
Luncheon at TAFE
Listening to Janice
reading her poem
Early risers at Carers
Week Breakfast
Swaran Austin, Wuchopperen
Yarning Up Service Counsellor and
Ian (Carer)
Happy carers & CRCC staff at the
luncheon at TAFE
Carer Friendly Business Awards
In awarding Reegan, the panel noted the
trust between Reegan and Karen, allowing
Karen to have a real break, knowing her
daughter is well supported with Reegan.
In her nomination of George and
his company, Liz used words such
as reliable, meticulous, efficient,
understanding, compassion and
humanity to describe the service
she received.
Winner—Great Employee Category
Reegan Della Costa (right), GSL,
with Karen (carer)
Congratulations to the following nominees who were commended:
Commendation—Great Service Provider: Eacham Community Help Organisation
Commendation—Great Employee Category: Peter Dillon, FNQ ILSA
Commendation—Great Employee Category: Deb Curcio, Ozcare
Winner—Great Service Provider
Category—George Cook, Superclean
Atherton, with Liz (carer)
Page 6
Far North
Carers Contributions
We have decided to start a Carer’s Contributions section to our newsletters. If anyone has any recipes, interesting news, poems etc that they would like to share with other carers, please feel free to email these to
Michelle so that these may be included. Her email address is [email protected].
A carer from our Walk and Talk group bought this beautiful Chocolate Cheesecake along to our Walk and Talk
morning tea. We all enjoyed this immensely and she was happy to share it with you all.
Chocolate Cheesecake
Base:
1 ½ packets of chocolate ripple or buttersnap biscuits (crushed)
150 grams of melted butter (approximately)
Crush and line base of cheesecake tin.
Cheesecake Mixture:
2 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
½ a cup of lemon juice
1 tin of condensed milk
Beat together for seven minutes.
Variations:
Mix whatever chocolate you love together eg melt some white and dark chocolate – use about ¾ of a block.
Drop in either chopped up Maltesers, Aeromint Chocolate, Violet Crumble etc.
Melt anything eg Lindt Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (6 – 10).
Method:
Crush biscuits and line buttered cheesecake tin. Beat cheesecake ingredients together for seven minutes. Add
whatever variation of chocolate you want and stir it through whether melted or just chopped. Swirl chocolate
through refrigerate until set.
Handy Hint for Melting Chocolate:
Use a kitchen knife to roughly chop the chocolate while you bring a saucepan of water to a gentle simmer.
Place the chocolate in a clean, heat-proof bowl and set it snugly on top of the saucepan.
No water or steam must touch the chocolate or it will seize up.
Use a metal spoon to stir the chocolate as it starts to melt and once again when it is mostly melted.
It's important to use a metal spoon as wooden spoons can retain moisture and cause your chocolate to seize
Last Word from Michelle
Well it has been nearly six months since I have had the pleasure of joining Carers Queensland Cairns Office. I have
really enjoyed my time here, diving into the deep end when Carers Week 2014 was being organised upon my start .
I have enjoyed meeting some of you at functions and at our office. If you have any concerns or wish to email me
with some of your carer contributions, please either phone me or email me ([email protected]).
I am looking forward to a productive new year helping Lynda and the team organise events such asg Youth Week for
young carers, Carers Week and the general office administration tasks.
Page 7
Far North
A glimpse into the life of a carer—a poem by Janice Shoesmith
To celebrate Carers Queensland 25th Anniversary, we ran a poetry completion. Janice Shoesmith from Cairns was our
very worth winner. Here is her winning poem.
Reconciliation happens day by day
To put to rest the awful things people say
Life has been so hard from the beginning
But here is why my heart goes on singing
Constantly aware of other peoples needs
The winds of strife blow you like a reed
At times feeling like you are trapped in a cage
And smile sweetly when you feel nothing but rage
25 years ago begun a great team
A beacon of hope to some it would seem
The gift of support to keep on trying
To look after loves ones disabled or dying
Often the love you feel outweighs the bad
You smile like you’re happy even though you’re sad
Exhaustion and stress creep up to your head
At times leaving you emotionally dead
Your body feels like a lump of lead
We had many a growing concern
About those we loved, so we wanted to learn
The best way to help them achieve their goals
And counsel us in our supporting roles
Being social is not always an option we take
Because our supporting roles are not a piece of cake
We think of others more than ourselves
Facebook and Twitter may the only thing into
Which we can delve
There are a number of growing concerns
About keeping up with the demands and learn
How best to deal with the problems at hand
And not go under in the quicksand
The young ones grow old way too quick
Burning the candles both end of the wick
Dealing with stresses beyond their age
While losing their family, they feel trapped in a cage
Always on call to help when we’re needed
Without Carers Queensland our cries would go unheeded
They’re always there to help us when we call
And to pick up the pieces when we fall
Our own emotions and feelings are put on hold
Otherwise we upset those we try to uphold
The things we want to do, seldom get done
Looking after others, makes it harder to look after
Number one
Then all of a sudden they will do something sweet
And you will catch a glimpse like a real little treat
Of what they are really like, below all that stress
And you pick yourself up again
And continue cleaning up the mess
No matter how much stress they bring
At times they make your heart sing
When you catch a glimpse so rare
You find that their heart is so sweet and fair
The occasional time when they show they care
Whether good or whether bad
Whether happy or whether sad
We love them and care for them
And we’d do anything for them
No matter the stress and no matter the strife
We care and try to give them an easier life.
By Janice Shoesmith
Winning Entry
Carer—Cairns
Page 8
Far North
Events Calendar - February / March 2015
February 2015
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
1
2 Maereba
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
11
12
13Carers Day Out
hosted by Anglicare &
Life Without Barriers
14
15
16 CQ Counsellor in
Mareeba
17
18
19 North Cairns
20
21
22
25 Tablelands
24
27
28
Carers Support Group
9 Edmonton
Carers Support Group
Carers Support Group
25
26
Carers Support Group
March 2015
Mon
*’Feast of Cultures’ on Thursday 19th March – 10am -2pm at the Serbian Club, Greenslopes Street, North Cairns
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
1
2 Mareeba
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
19 Cairns North CSG
20
21
22
27
28
29
Carers Support Group
9 Edmonton
Carers Support Group
16 CQ Counsellor in
Feast of Cultures
10am—2pm *
Mareeba
25 Tablelands
24
25
26
Carers Support Group
30
31
Our Programs:
Far North Queensland
Regional Office
 Carers Advisory Service
* 1/320 Sheridan St
 Counselling
Cairns QLD 4870
* PO Box 955 LPO
Cairns North QLD 4870
* 8.30am – 5.00pm Mon-Fri
* Ph: 4031 0163
* Fax: 4051 0166
* Carer Advisory Service:
1800 242 636
 Carer Support Groups
 Young Carers
 Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)
www.carersqld.asn.au
 Training
 Better Start
(free call except from mobiles)
 No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS)
Carers Queensland Inc. ABN: 20 061 257 725
 Advocacy Support